Southern Railway has announced a new scheme that will allow passengers travelling in non-AC sleeper coaches to avail pillows and blankets at reduced rates. Until now, such facilities were provided only to AC coach passengers in Indian Railways.
Sleeper-class passengers often travel long distances without access to bedroll facilities. To address this, Southern Railway has decided to roll out a paid service where pillows, blankets and other essentials will be made available for purchase during travel.
The scheme will be launched on January 1 in the first phase and will cover 10 trains. Based on feedback and demand, the service may be expanded to more trains in the future.
The trains included in the first phase are:
1. 12671 / 12672 – Nilgiri Superfast Express
2. 12685 / 12686 – Mangaluru Superfast Express
3. 16179 / 16180 – Mannargudi Express
4. 20605 / 20606 – Tiruchendur Superfast Express
5. 22651 / 22652 – Palakkad Express
6. 20681 / 20682 – Silambu Superfast Express
7. 22657 / 22658 – Tambaram–Nagercoil Superfast Express
8. 12695 / 12696 – Thiruvananthapuram Superfast Express
9. 22639 / 22640 – Alappuzha Superfast Express
10. 16159 / 16160 – Mangaluru Express
Railway officials said that introducing bedroll facilities in sleeper coaches will greatly benefit lakhs of passengers who travel long distances without comfort items.
