Indian Railways To Provide Blanket Covers In AC Coaches For Hygienic Journey

Indian Railways To Provide Blanket Covers In AC Coaches For Hygienic Journey

The Ministry of Railways on Thursday (Oct 16) launched a pilot scheme under which blanket covers will be provided to passengers travelling in AC coaches. Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the move is intended to enhance hygiene and offer a safer, cleaner and comfortable journey experience to the passengers.

The implementation of the scheme addresses a long-standing demand of the passengers, as blankets were not cleaned as frequently as the bed sheets and pillow covers.

“Blankets have been used in our railway system for years, but there has always been a doubt in the minds of our passengers. To remove that doubt, a new initiative has been taken today – the introduction of blanket covers,” said Vaishnaw.

The new practice of printed blanket covers in all AC coaches will start with the Jaipur–Asarva Express. If successful, the scheme will be rolled out to trains across the sectors.

“To further improve passenger comfort, the Railway Minister launched the new practice of printed blanket covers in all AC classes of Jaipur–Asarva Express, promoting hygiene, uniformity and better onboard experience,” the Indian Railways stated.

In November last year, Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha that blankets provided to train passengers were washed at least once a month.

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“The blankets used in Indian Railways, as per current specifications, are lighter, easy to wash and provide good insulation to passengers for an overall comfortable journey experience,” said Vaishnaw in a written reply to Congress MP Kuldeep Indora’s question, “whether woollen blankets are washed only once a month while passengers are paying for bedding that meets the basic hygiene standards”.

Vaishnaw mentioned several measures were taken to ensure passenger comfort and safety, including the procurement of new linen sets with improved BIS specifications to ensure better quality, and mechanised laundries to ensure the supply of hygienic linen sets.

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Besides eco-friendly packaging of bedrolls, improved logistics are used for storing, transportation, loading and unloading of linen/bedrolls at stations and on trains, the minister added. NDTV