The Eastern Railway zone of Indian Railways is looking to introduce new disposable pillow covers in two Rajdhani Express trains. The move, aimed at improving passenger amenities and hygiene standards on trains is being implemented on a trial basis. The two superfast Rajdhani Express train services that have been chosen for this trial are Howrah–New Delhi Rajdhani Express train and Sealdah–New Delhi Rajdhani Express train. In addition to this, the Eastern Railway zone is also making efforts to supplying of disposable napkins to railway passengers in place of hand towels.
Meanwhile, the national transporter, a few months back, decided to stop the existing practice of washing the blankets, provided to railway passengers, once in two months. In an attempt to enhance cleanliness, Indian Railways took the decision to wash the blankets for AC coaches twice a month. Not only that, to make the blankets washable-friendly, the material of the blankets is also being changed. Now, the material of the blankets is likely to be a mix of nylon and wool.
Last year, a CAG report mentioned that the unhygienic condition of blankets, used by several railway passengers during their train journey, was caused because of not washing them for up to six months, even though the directive is to wash them in every one or two months. The national transporter, which was flooded with complaints from people regarding dirty blankets, was forced to come up with a solution to increase the frequency of washing the blankets and replace them with new ones.
Indian Railways claims it is taking every possible step in to enhance passenger amenities as well as cleanliness. In recent months, several measures have been taken by the ministry to uplift the condition of trains – from installation of bio-toilets in railway coaches to the introduction of clean blankets in AC coaches of trains.