Blankets to be washed twice a month, railway authorities say

Service life of blankets will also be cut to two years from the existing four

Blankets for air-conditioned (AC) coaches will now be washed twice a month instead of the current practice of once in two months as the Railways has changed the material to make it wash-friendly.

With the increase of washing frequency, the service life of blankets will also be reduced to two years from the existing four years while the pricing is expected to almost double.

According to the revised specifications, the new blankets will be a mix of woollen and nylon to make smelly blankets a thing of the past for AC passengers.

The heavy woollen blankets currently in use cost about Rs400 (Dh21) and with the change in fabric, new pricing will be decided shortly, said a senior Railway Ministry official involved with the task of introducing regular washable blankets for train travellers across the country.

Since the pricing of the blankets has not been revised over the last 10 years, the new ones with changed specifications are expected to cost more than the prevailing rate.

Unhygienic condition highlighted

Railways needs about 390,000 blankets daily for its AC passengers across the country. While AC first class passengers get a changed blanket cover after every use, the facility is not available for the AC second and third class travellers.

Though the directive was to wash the blankets every one or two months, a CAG report had recently highlighted the unhygienic condition of blankets which were not washed for even six months.