The Jammu Tawi Express at Tatanagar railway station on Wednesday. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Jamshedpur, April 6: Sleep easy. That’s the clean and fresh-smelling surprise awaiting passengers of air-conditioned sleeper berths boarding from Tatanagar station.

Thanks to the Chakradharpur division of South Eastern Railway (SER), the laundry service has been shifted to the carriage and wagons department (mechanical). It was earlier looked after by the railway’s commercial wing.

“The laundry service in all trains originating from Tatanagar will now be looked after by the mechanical department, based on a directive issued by SER headquarters. The move is aimed at providing better laundry service, “ said Tatanagar station manager Ashok Agarwal.

Railway officials said the decision would help in providing clean bed linen to passengers in the air-conditioned sleeper berths.

“The commercial department, already bogged down with work pressure, is facing manpower crunch. This might be a reason for shifting the service to the mechanical section,” an official said, saying that the situation should see an improvement as the mechanical department is fully equipped to take care of the laundry service.

“We have initiated steps to come up with a mechanised laundry system near the new under-construction coaching complex at Tatanagar, with an investment of about Rs 1.50 crore, to be functional in the next three months. Till then, a private agency will wash linen,” said Biplab Kanti Ray, a senior railway officer and in-charge of the coach depot.

Often passengers boarding trains from Tatanagar complain of filthy and stinking bed linen. The Chhotanagpur Passenger’s Association and the Singhbhum Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) had highlighted the issue at various forums but to no avail.

“We had raised the issue on several occasions at the of Divisional Railway Users’ Consultative Committee (DRUCC) meetings. The quality of blankets is not up to the mark. Passengers also complain about used linen,” said Suresh Sonthalia, a member of DRUCC and SCCI general secretary.

Ray also said at several other railway divisions such as Ranchi and Bilaspur, the laundry service was assigned to the commercial department, but the Railway Board is making an effort to maintain uniformity by changing the systems there as well.

He cited the example of Bengal’s Santragachi, where the laundry service was looked after by the railway’s mechanical section. Sources said that this would be done nationwide in a phased manner.

Over half-a-dozen long distance mail and express trains originate from Tatanagar, including Tata-Jammu Tawi Express, Tata-Alleppy Express, Tata-Chapra Link Express, Tata-Amritsar Jallianwallah Bagh Express and Tata-Yeshwantpur Express.