There are about 50 mechanised laundries operational at the moment and ten more will be opened shortly.Railways had recently held a meeting on linen management which was attended by various stakeholders including mechanised laundry operators, suppliers of cleaning chemicals, linen suppliers and senior railway officers."Our aim is to provide washed blankets along with fresh linen in trains for each journey," said a senior Railway Ministry official in the housekeeping directorate who is involved in the task.Besides, used blankets would be sanitised on a regular basis before being given for further use.The plan envisages increasing the frequencies of washing of blankets to begin with and replacing the existing ones with the newly designed lightweight blankets made of soft fabric in a phased manner, he said. Plagued with complaints of dirty blankets, the Indian Railways has firmed up an   action plan to increase the frequency of washing blankets and replace the existing ones with designer, lightweight blankets in a phased manner. China NYLON POLYESTER STRETCH CompanyThe railways have roped in the National Institute of Fashion Design (NIFT) to design lightweight blankets with less wool content.It was decided to implement the plan for improvement of linen management with aim of providing clean, hygienic and good quality linen to passengers travelling in AC classes.

Though the directive is 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. A trial of thin, cold washable blankets is also being carried out in the Central Railway zone as a pilot project.Preparations are are being made to introduce lightweight blankets made of soft fabric and these will be washed after every use, the official said