Jamshedpur, April 7 : The mechanised laundry at the Tatanagar railway station would soon undergo expansion. Looked after by the carriage and wagons department, the mechanised laundry would soon have another laundry machine of 1.5 ton, to cater to the requirement of linen washing
Railway officials at Tatanagar said that the need for expansion of the mechanised laundry was felt due to increasing number of special trains originating from Tatanagar and additional AC berths which are introduced to clear rush of passengers during festive seasons and vacations.
” Presently the laundry has a 1.5 ton capacity machine for cleaning the linen provided to passengers on AC reserved coaches. Soon another machine of the same capity would be added which will help in meeting the requirements, ” said H K Balmuchu, station director at Tatanagar.
According to Balmuchu, the existing machine can wash 5,000 bed rolls daily. ” Themechanised laundry plant runs in three shifts,” he said.
He explained that the mechanised washed and packed linen is supplied in coaches of train to obtain proper hygiene. Presently, Tatanagar and Rourkela railway stations under Chakradharpur division have mechanized laundry facilities.
A senior official of the commercial wing which earlier used to look after the laundry service said that a proposal for installation of the new machine was already approved by the South Eastern Railway. ” We are hopeful of getting the new machine installed in another one month,” said an official of the commercial section.
The mechanised laundry was set up in 2011 near the newly built coaching complex at Tatanagar station, with an investment of about Rs 1.50 crore.
Several passengers boarding trains from Tatanagar complain that they are not provided bed linen. In Deecmber last year the Chhotanagpur Passenger�s Association had taken up the the issue with authorities of Chakradharpur division, which later took a decision for expanding the existing laundry facility at Tatanagar.
The Tatanagar station assumes importance in view because it is located on the Howrah-Mumbai main route. Several important trains travel via Tatanagar, including the high-profile Rajdhani Express and Duronto Express. The station sees a daily traffic of 90mail, express and passenger trains, besides a footfall of more than 60,000 passengers.