RailEnquiry

LUCKNOW: To prevent accidental fires on trains from turning catastrophic, RDSO has come up with detailed specifications on stain-proof and fire-retardant linen. Such linen will not catch fire easily and reduce the damage in onboard fire accidents.Lucknow division of Northern Railway will start the trial of the stain-proof and fire-retardant linen onboard Gomti Express. Since the train has one second AC coach, it will be easier for Railways to provide the new linen in limited numbers for the trial. "We have not selected trains like Lucknow Mail for trial because that would have required us to provide the material in one complete train," said sources.The tenders for providing new linen will open on July 18 and Railways will put it to trial after that.Though the Research Designs and Standards Organization (RDSO) has given the specifications, trial will put the specifications to test. It will also find out other things like durability and cost of the material. If the trial is successful, Railways will distribute the fire-retardant linen instead of the usual cotton fabric to passengers in trains.

Northern Railway had received the tentative specification on fire-retardant linen from RDSO in April 2010, but now it has got the detailed specifications.

The fire-retardant linen could be the first of its kind in Indian Railways. It will be manufactured with an inherent permanent flame retardant fibre whose flame retardant quality does not diminish with prolonged use or repeated washing.

At the same time, linen should be preferable, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal and soothing to skin.

If a train coach catches fire, there is not much that Railways can do to control it. Railways, so far, tries to prevent such accidents by using fire-retardant material in floorings, berth covers and ceiling of the coaches. But now there is an emphasis on introducing onboard technologies that can stub out the flames and prevent fire accidents.

Fire-retardant linen is one such gear.