Next time you take a train ride in the air-conditioned compartment, beware of the blanket the linen man gets you. Chances are that the blanket might not have been washed in the last two months. This shocking revelation came on Friday when MoS railways Manoj Sinha was replying to a question raised by some members in Rajya Sabha regarding the quality and hygiene of linen supplied by railways.

Fortunately, bed sheets and pillow covers are washed daily. “While bedsheets, bedroll and pillow covers are washed every day, the blankets are washed once in every two months,” Manoj Sinha said.

As members recalled their own experiences with railways, House chairman Hamid Ansari remarked in jest that it would be better if passengers are allowed to bring their own linen and pillows for train journeys. In response, Sinha said it was a “good advice” and the Railways will not have a problem if passengers want to adopt the earlier practice.

Sinha, however, explained that that in about two years 85% passengers can get cleaner linen as Railways is setting up 25 more mechanized laundries. He pointed out that in places which are not covered by the mechanised laundries, the job has been outsourced.

“Blankets cannot be washed every day, which is why an extra bed sheet is provided to every passenger to cover it,” said railways, defending Sinha’s statement. A railways official said blankets are ‘sanitized’ every 15 days to kill germs and odour. Indian Railways has also started a bedroll takeaway scheme under which a passenger can book a kit online — Rs 110 for a blanket, or Rs 140 for two bed sheets and a pillow — and take it home after the journey.