Does the 'train' smell even on AC coaches make you reach for your deo spray every now and then, especially if you're seated near the door?
If your olfactory system is uneasy on a train journey, here's good news. Ranchi railway division has received the go-ahead from Railway Board to install automatic fragrance dispensers at AC coaches and toilets of all 25 trains leaving from Ranchi and Hatia stations.
The railway division will invite tenders in January 2016 from odour control firms. Fitting automatic fragrance dispensers in all the 25 trains is likely to start in March and end in April.
New Delhi-Ranchi Rajdhani Express, Howrah-Hatia Express, Jharkhand Swarna Jayanti Express, Hatia-Yesvantpur Super Fast Express and Ranchi-New Delhi Garib Rath Express are among some important trains whose AC coaches will get fragrant. These include First Class, Tier-II and Tier-III coaches.
Confirming the development, Ranchi railway senior divisional engineer Vinay Kumar Srivastava said: "The Railway Board has permitted us to fit fragrance dispensers. Work on procuring and fitting dispensers and fragrances will be done here. This arrangements will be for all 25 trains that originate from Ranchi or Hatia."
Once the coaches and toilets are fitted with the automatic dispenser units, refilling the fragrance will be a part of the on-board housekeeping when trains are halted at Hatia station for maintenance. Railway sources said a train usually undergoes six to eight hours of maintenance before embarking on its journey.
Passengers have welcomed this proposal.
Nirja Kumari, a development sector professional who regularly travels from Ranchi by train, said the move to install automatic fragrance dispensers in AC coaches would be a godsend.
"A fresh fragrance is very soothing as aroma therapy practitioners know well. Also, most of us have fragrance dispensers in our cars to combat traffic stress. On a train, bad odour is very annoying yet common. So, fragrance is definitely a add-on in train journeys and will help us reach our destinations with a fresh mind," she said.
Across India, AC coaches of some of the most prestigious trains have automatic fragrance dispensers.
