Railways ensures monthly blanket washing, adds extra bedsheet for hygiene: Ashwini Vaishnaw

The minister also detailed the measures taken to improve passenger satisfaction and maintain bedding hygiene.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, on Wednesday, informed the Lok Sabha that the Indian Railways washes blankets provided to passengers at least once a month. Additionally, an extra bedsheet is now included in the bedroll kit, serving as a quilt cover for enhanced hygiene, he stated.

The minister was responding to a query raised by Congress MP Kuldeep Indora, who asked whether woollen blankets are washed only once a month, despite passengers paying for bedding that should meet basic hygiene standards.

In a written reply, Vaishnaw explained that Indian Railways uses lighter, easy-to-wash blankets that provide good insulation, ensuring passenger comfort. He also detailed the measures taken to improve passenger satisfaction and maintain bedding hygiene.

"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," he noted.

He mentioned several measures taken to ensure passenger comfort and safety, including procurement of new linen sets with improved BIS specifications to ensure better quality, mechanised laundries to ensure supply of hygienic linen sets, use of standard machines and specified chemicals for washing of linen, and monitoring linen washing activities.

Some key steps include the procurement of new linen sets with improved BIS specifications, ensuring higher quality. "Whito-meters are used to check the quality of washed linen items, and the codal life of linen items has been reduced from the previously prescribed duration to allow quicker induction of fresh items," Vaishnaw said.

"War rooms have been established at zonal headquarters and divisional levels to monitor and prompt action on complaints lodged on the RailMadad portal, including complaints on linen and bedroll," he added.

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

The minister reiterated the Railways’ commitment to providing hygienic and high-quality bedding, along with continuous improvements to ensure a more comfortable travel experience for passengers.