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<ul><li>The <keyword id="6355455" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-railways">Indian Railways</keyword> has decided to ditch the old ‘high maintenance’ heavy woollen blankets and make way for new ones that can be washed twice a month.</li><li> A <keyword id="6359828" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="comptroller-and-auditor-general">Comptroller and Auditor General</keyword> (CAG) report released last year revealed that some blankets were washed at an interval of 6-26 months. </li><li>On a typical day, the railways use around 3,90,000 blankets for passengers travelling in AC classes. </li></ul> If the idea of a train journey through the waxing and waning topography of rural India fills you with a sense of nostalgia, if you are yearning for that hot matka of chai at a railway station on a chilly winter morning, if you think that people who spend thousands of rupees to take a 2-hour flight are plain stupid, perhaps the fact that railways blankets are washed once in two months will make you pause, rewind and opt for an alternate mode of transport. However, now the Indian Railways has decided to ditch the old ‘high maintenance’ heavy woollen blankets and make way for new ones that can be washed twice a month! This move may have something to do with a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report released last year that revealed that some blankets were washed at an interval of 6-26 months, amongst numerous other <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/now-cag-criticises-indian-railways-over-dirty-linen-blankets-and-pillows/story-g9UMcL4c4qll5PwYrpbwbJ.html">issues</a> the report flagged. Not only that, used blankets will be sanitised ‘regularly’ before being passed on to the next user. (Currently, a blanket is sanitised once in <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/budget-2016/rail-budget-2016/You-smelt-it-right-Railways-washes-blankets-every-two-months/articleshow/51162191.cms">15 days</a>.) And finally, the service life of a blanket, which is the amount of time a blanket will be used, has been reduced to two years, as opposed to four. The woollen blankets they have now cost around Rs. 400 per piece. However, needless to say, this ‘upgraded’ mix of woollen and nylon is expected to cost almost double. But that’s a price the railways may be willing to pay, considering the number of complaints they get from travellers raising a stink about dirty, smelly blankets. The directive from the railways to all zones says that ideally, these new blankets are to be washed twice a month, subject to available capacity and logistics arrangements. But should this prove to be a tall order, the blankets need to be washed <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/railways/blankets-for-ac-travellers-to-be-washed-twice-a-month/articleshow/64745089.cms?utm_source=Colombia&amp;utm_medium=OrganicNative&amp;utm_campaign=CTN&amp;utm_content=19">‘minimum once in a month.’</a> On a typical day, the railways use around 3,90,000 blankets for passengers travelling in AC classes. And while those lucky enough to travel in the first class receive a changed blanket cover after every use, those travelling in AC second and third class don’t. Those whose weren’t aware of these facts and numbers may take solace in the fact that the Indian Railways is aiming to provide a fresh set of train linen and blanket for ‘each journey’. In fact, there are already 50 mechanised laundries and the railways plan to add ten more shortly.

Blankets provided on trains by Indian Railways will soon be fresher and cleaner

The <keyword id="6355455" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Railways">Indian Railways</keyword> is planning to discontinue giving blankets in some AC trains, following criticism that it gives dirty blankets to passengers. Recently, a CAG report criticised the railways on cleanliness and hygiene in trains and stations. Instead, railways is working on a pilot project to maintain the temperature of the <keyword id="6369612" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="AC-coaches">AC coaches</keyword>. The railways will work on a pilot project and maintain the temperature at 24°C in these AC coaches, up from the current 19°C. According to initial estimates, the move to do away with blankets is an economical option, considering that it takes Rs 55 to clean the bedroll while passengers are charged just Rs 22 for it. Railways guidelines stipulate that the blankets are to be washed every one to two months, which was not being followed, resulting in the transporter being flooded with complaints.

Railways might discontinue giving blankets in some AC trains. Here’s why

The <keyword id="6355455" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-railways">Indian Railways</keyword> has received a lot of flak not only from passengers but also from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) that lashed out at it for failing to meet the <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/now-cag-criticises-indian-railways-over-dirty-linen-blankets-and-pillows/story-g9UMcL4c4qll5PwYrpbwbJ.html">basic hygiene standards</a> and highlighted critical safety <a href="http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-after-andheri-rob-collapse-audit-reports-of-overbridges-come-into-limelight-2633028">flaws</a> in the <keyword id="17408" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="infrastructure">infrastructure</keyword>. And while there are numerous examples of how the railways is trying to spruce things up a bit and get their act together, fact is, apart from the relatively lighter changes like placing <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indian-railways-is-going-to-live-stream-its-kitchens-to-the-world-to-ensure-transparency/articleshow/64600841.cms">cameras in kitchens</a> and acquiring <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/blankets-provided-on-trains-by-indian-railways-will-soon-be-fresher-and-cleaner/articleshow/64764828.cms">blankets</a> that can be washed twice a month, the railways is engaged in some heavy duty changes that are geared towards safety, convenience and basic timeliness of the <keyword id="6360847" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="trains">trains</keyword>. According to a report by the <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/railways/how-aging-creaking-crumbling-railways-is-getting-a-new-life/articleshow/64852991.cms">Economic Times</a>, here are ten key changes the Indian Railways is currently indulging in. <ol><li>Eliminating unmanned railway crossings: A little over two months after the unfortunate <a href="https://www.news18.com/news/india/kushinagar-accident-14-children-killed-as-train-hits-school-bus-at-railway-crossing-1729955.html">Kushinagar train accident</a> when a train rammed into a school van killing 14 children at an unmanned railway crossing (UMLC), the railways is aggressively working on eliminating all unmanned railway crossings. To achieve this it has given itself a deadline of 31 March 2020. In fact, the railways has already <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/railways-eliminates-all-unmanned-level-crossings-from-4-zones-5239251/">eliminated</a> all UMLCs in four zones on <keyword id="409555" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="broad-gauge">broad gauge</keyword> routes in July — West Central Railway, Central Railway, Eastern Railway and South East Central Railway — and is well on its way to eliminating unmanned level crossings in 11 zones by September 2018. <div type="image" title="pexels-photo-892541." tempid="406286" msid="64859688" hostid="261"></div>

 </li><li>Giving old, worn-out tracks an upgrade: A <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/586-train-accidents-in-last-5-years-53-due-to-derailments/articleshow/60141578.cms">Times of India</a> report in October 2017 claimed that almost 53% of the 586 train accidents in the last five years were due to derailments. And ageing and/or defective railways tracks is one of the primary causes of derailments. Therefore, the railways has boosted its efforts to replace its ageing tracks and repair defective ones. In fact, the railways claim that there is a 50% increase in rail track renewal from 2,926 kilometres in 2013-14 to 4,405 kilometres in 2017-18. </li><li>Construction of foot-over-bridges: In September 2017, a stampede at <keyword id="6358070" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="mumbai">Mumbai</keyword>’s Elphinstone Railway Station foot-over-bridge claimed 22 lives. The cause of the stampede is not clear but it is quite apparent that the bridge was too narrow and clearly not sufficient to handle the daily footfall of the station. In fact, a <a href="http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2017/sep/29/mumbai-elphinstone-station-stampede-railways-ignored-warning-that-its-foot-over-bridges-are-narrow-1664659.html">CAG report in 2006</a> had flagged that the railways had reduced the width of the bridges and stated that foot-over-bridges should be at least 6 m width at all suburban railway platforms. However, now the railways claims that they have managed to up its game and has constructed 74 bridges per year between 2014-18 which is a 221% jump from 23 per year during 2009-14. </li><li>Device to guide train drivers through fog: Come winters, rail travel becomes a massive nightmare. Lack of visibility thanks to extreme fog inevitably leads to delays and accidents. But in December 2017, the national transporter installed <a href="http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2017/dec/12/indian-railways-to-use-gps-enabled-devices-to-fight-fog-this-season-1725490.html">4,920 GPS-enabled FOG PASS devices</a> to help loco pilots navigate through the fog. The gadget displays a map of tracks, signals, stations and level crossings and alerts drivers of approaching signals 500 meters ahead, which in turn helps the driver increase or decrease the speed of the train. Believe it or not, before these devices, the common practice to alert drivers was to tie <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Railways-tie-crackers-to-beat-fog/articleshow/45526196.cms">crackers</a> to the tracks. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 <div type="image" title="vignesh-moorthy-419909-unsplash" msid="64859532" hostid="261"></div>

















 Photo by : <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/n9dBt4g2Ss4?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Vignesh Moorthy</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/search/photos/india?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash </a><a href="https://unsplash.com/search/photos/india?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText"></a></li><li>Improved signalling system: In order to eradicate outdated manual signalling, the government pumped in a whopping ₹12990 million to modernise the system. This new automated signalling system aims to enhance safety and speed up train movement in a congested network. Apart from this, the railways intends to provide electronic interlocking systems, introduce European Train Control System technology and mobile train radio communication systems as a part of its five-year upgradation agenda. </li><li>Waterproof engines: Heavy rainfall has historically added to the woes of Indian commuters. Waterlogging not only on roads but also on railway tracks lead to delays and brings cities like Mumbai to a standstill. However, the Indian Railways plans to remedy the issue by introducing waterproof locomotive engines to basically tow stranded trains that. Four inches of water can bring a standard train engine to a standstill, however, these <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/railways/take-a-look-at-indian-railways-waterproof-engine-than-can-haul-rakes-stranded-in-rains/saviour-engine/slideshow/64573538.cms">new engines</a> are equipped to operate in 12 inches of water. </li><li>Measure to make purchasing tickets easier: To nudge people towards a cashless system, the national transporter has installed 9,100 point of sale (POS) machines at about 4,000 locations including rail ticket counters. </li><li>Station facelift: The railways plans to spruce up major railway stations big time. The revamped stations will ape modern airports and will therefore include modern facilities like escalators, lifts, subways, ramps, AC VIP lounge, AC waiting room and rest rooms and shopping malls. Apart from this, the stations will will be beautified with local artworks.</li><li>Cleanliness: In order to implement the Swachh Railways mission, the railways has introduced mechanised cleaning system at 488 stations and has started using an automatic rail-mounted machine to keep its tracks at platforms clean. And to keep a check on freelance housekeeping contractors, passengers will be asked to rate the cleanliness based on which the contractor will be paid.</li><li>Increasing rail connectivity: The Prime Minister’s ‘Act East Policy’ has given a much-required boost to the infrastructural development in northeast India. The first priority was to convert the entire North East rail network to a broad gauge system which it aims to do by 2020.</li></ol>

Indian Railways is planning a major overhaul: Here's what's in store

Some of the bigger start-up companies like <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword>, <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword>, OYORooms etc are now opinion makers. Gone are their initial days of struggle. It’s the survival-of-the-fittest race now they want to win as opposed to some of the early stage start-ups, who are the ones reeling under real problems while facing huge challenges on the ground. 
 
We spoke to some of them and in no time, learnt some of the pertinent challenges. We thought it was best to let the government know what these new kids on the block seek from Mr Arun Jaitley’s upcoming Budget even though it’s just a week away. 
 
Some of the recommendations are real food for thought and therefore hard to ignore. Read on! 
 
Capital Float - Online lending platform 
 “The Prime Minister’s action plan on <keyword id="6362513" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Startups">startups</keyword> was the first step to aid the growth of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in India. We hope that the budget will lay the groundwork to create more opportunities for innovation in the startup sector especially in the Fintech space. We expect this Budget to bring parity between the NBFCs and other financial institutions and kick-start the SARFAESI measures, which has been the long standing demand of the NBFCs thereby bringing the regulatory framework in parity with banks,” says Sashank Rishyasringa and Gaurav Hinduja, Co-Founder, Capital Float. 
 
We believe that this budget would also look at providing monetary incentives under Skill India to small-scale entrepreneurs to help them impart specific training to unskilled labour and a flush of capital into the Technology Acquisition and Development Fund (TADF), meant to help business to acquire the requisite machinery and technology to expand their operations. Incremental steps promised in the Startup India initiative by the Prime Minister will need to become a reality which can in turn set the stage for something big, bold and a game-changer,” he adds. 
 
CUBE 26 – A Technology innovation firm 
 “This <keyword id="6360189" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Union-Budget">Union Budget</keyword>, we expect the government to make patents simpler, and offer schemes and incentives that encourage startups to take risks. We also expect government to approach India’s smart devices market through supportive and encouraging regulations to expedite the ecosystem for smart device manufacturing. To promote Make in India, we believe that the government should offer subsidies on investments and incentives for Indian device manufacturers. This will help them to build a price advantage over the increasing international competition from brands. Also, reduction of import duties with an option to allow businesses to Make in India will be a welcome move. Digital literacy and mobile internet penetration in tier 2, tier 3 cities are other areas onto which we would like to see the Union Budget’s focus. Substantial funds should be allocated to develop a robust network infrastructure and realise the government's 'Digital India' mission,” says Saurav Kumar, CEO &amp; Co-founder. 
 
Grabhouse – Online portal for flats, PG, House for rent without broker 
 “PM Modi’s recent Startup India Standup India campaign has definitely heightened the aspirations of the Startup community and now everyone is pinning hopes on an equally encouraging union budget. We look forward to a startup friendly tax budget with reduced interference and easy access to capital. As proposed by <keyword id="6372077" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nasscom">NASSCOM</keyword>, removing angel tax and exempting startups from direct and indirect taxes will go a long way in assisting startups to get a foothold in the market. Most startups run on bootstrap funding initially and waiving off service tax for a period of 3 years will build the risk-taking ability for startups in their nascent stages. Another area which we are keen about is the <keyword id="6354553" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="real-estate">real estate</keyword> space, we would like to see the execution of initiatives like smart and connected cities which deploy technology at the heart of their existence. We have always believed that technology will be key to resolve India’s real estate issues and we hope this budget will help make this dream possible at a faster rate,” says Pankhuri Shrivastava, Co-Founder &amp; CMO. 
 
PaySe™ - Fintech start-up 
 “The government said in one of its communications to the Payment Council of India that merchants with more than 50% of their transactions done digitally could get a tax rebate or a 1-2% reduction in value-added tax on all electronic transactions. Consumers could get some <keyword id="6354751" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Income-Tax">income tax</keyword> rebates if they showed a certain portion of their net expenses was incurred digitally. A similar initiative was implemented in South Korea and helped transform a predominantly cash nation. Success of the initiative in Korea was driven by the willingness of the government to allow various payment instruments including open, semi-closed and closed pre-paid instruments to be within the gambit of digital payment. A similar policy will help the merchants and consumers overcome the initial inertia”, says Ashutosh Pande, founder &amp; Chief Innovation officer of PaySe. 
 
Droom - Online marketplace to buy &amp; sell used cars, bikes, scooters, bicycles, aero planes 
 “Internet is an enabler of growth and visitor Highways should be simulated, similar to our rail and road infrastructure. Allocation of budget for creating a robust network of Internet connectivity across India is elementary. In the union budget we wish to see avenues of public private participation with telecom Operators. The same is the key to Internet growth; unless our telecom providers do not fuel our masses with bandwidth and affordability, Digital India would be a distant dream. Subsidy on smartphones is my next expectation, buying a smartphone is much easier than buying a desktop / laptop. The current Tier 2 and 3 cities and rural India thrives on these devices and smartphone reach will only make them stronger and smarter. It may give rise to evolution of many new Enterprises. Lastly, <keyword id="6354679" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="GST">GST</keyword> would be a game changing reform, it will enable a country wide, single market with reduced transaction costs for businesses and controlled economic volatility,” says spokesperson, Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder and CEO. 
 
TravelKhana – Online portal to book meals onboard trains 
 
"Being an online platform to book meals especially while travelling by train, in this year’s budget, we expect the government to include only the transportation cost in the ticket. Other facilities like food, blankets, bedsheets, etc, should be kept as optional charges while booking tickets online or offline, even for the premium trains. There should be preferences to upgrade tickets based on the availability on paying an additional cost. Also, there needs to be a system to utilize the terabytes of data generated by the Railways everyday for upgrading functions like fuel &amp; energy costs, sources of delay in timings etc. For those who intend to create new startups, the Government must ensure that data is available to them and a separate railway startup policy should be announced as well," says Pushpinder Singh, CEO &amp; Co-founder. 
 
(Image credits: PTI)

You Searched For "indian railways blankets" and got 4 results

Blankets provided on trains by Indian Railways will soon be fresher and cleaner

Kavita Majumdar

Railways might discontinue giving blankets in some AC trains. Here’s why

BI India Bureau

Indian Railways is planning a major overhaul: Here's what's in store

Kavita Majumdar

6 start-ups are ringing the alarm bell. Is the PM listening!

Anushree Singh

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