Southern Railway Floats New Initiative For Cozy Sleep: Sleeper Coach Passengers No Longer Need To Carry Pillows, Sheets

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Sleeper class passengers of non-AC coaches no longer need to carry pillows and sheets for their journey. Chennai division of the Southern Railway recently announced that passengers can get prompt access to these essentials during their journey from next year, that is 1 January.

The notification states,“Chennai Division, Southern Railway, is proud to announce the launch of a pioneering service to enhance comfort and hygiene for Sleeper Class passengers. Starting from 01t January 2026, Non-AC Sleeper Class travelers can request sanitized, ready-to-usc bedrolls on an On-Demand - On-Payment basis.”

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This service will be initially implemented for a period of three years on ten trains maintained by Chennai Division. On payment of annual license fee of nearly ₹28.27 lakh, the entire process, including procurement, mechanized washing, packing, loading, distribution and storage of bedrolls will be managed.

"Till now, Sleeper Class passengers did not have access to organized provision of bedrolls during their journeys. To address this, Chennai Division implemented a pilot project under the New Innovative Non-Fare Revenue Ideas Scheme (NINFRIS) during 2023-24. The pilot project received an overwhelmingly positive response_ from passengers, prompting the Railways to introduce this service as a regular Non-Fare Revenue (NFR) initiative," the circular adds.

Making a remarkable change in the services provided to passengers on non-AC sleeper coaches, the passengers can avail this facility of payment of a requisite fee and the items needed for a cozy sleep during the train journey will be produced on demand.

Applicable charges

Under the new initiative of the Southern Railway, the pillow with cover can be rented for ₹30, while the charges for renting a bed sheet has been set at ₹20. Passengers can avail both the items for ₹50. Previously, only passengers of AC sleeper coaches received pillows and bed sheets but extra charges were not levied over the ticket cost.

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Passengers of a total of 10 express trains will be able to access pillows and bed sheets on rent from 1 January onwards, as per the notification dated 28 November. Given below is a lest of trains where this facility will be available.

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• Palghat Express, Mangalore Express, Nilgiri Superfast Express, Trivandrum Superfast Express, Alleppey Superfast Express, Mannargudi Express, Tiruchendur Superfast Express, Tambaram-Nagercoil Superfast Express, Mangalore Superfast Express originating from Chennai Central and Silambu Superfast Express originating from Chennai Egmore.

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