Indian Railways (IR) to ensure safety among passengers and prevent fire related mishaps will now adopt a prevention method to deal with accidental fire. Instead of the usual cotton linen, distributed among the passengers, fire retardant linen will now be distributed among the commuters. "While it might take a little time to get final shape, we have made the proposal to introduce the new linen on board Lucknow Mail," said senior railway officials.
The fire retardant linen believed to be the first of its kind in Indian railways will be introduced in the couple of months. Besides to control fire accidents, the automatic fire extinguisher will be installed on board KV Express in August.
The fire-retardant fabrics have been developed by Research Designs and Standards Organization (RDSO), the Lucknow-based division of the Indian Railways. These fabrics could be used in linen given to passengers and in the upholstery of the train compartments. These fabrics will be produced from flame-retardant fibres, the resistance of which will not reduce from repeated washes.
“RDSO has designed fire retardant linen for upholstery, coaches and curtains. We have done research only in this domain and now it depends on the railways as to what use they would like to put them to,” RDSO Spokesperson said.
