Image copyright AFP

Image caption The issue of "smelly" blankets was even taken up for discussion in the parliament last week

Indian Railways is to introduce new "lightweight" blankets that will be washed every time they are used.

Currently, blankets in use on the rail network are washed every two months.

The new blankets, designed by the National Institute of Fashion Technology, will be able to withstand being washed every day, a senior railway official told reporters.

The issue of "smelly" blankets was even taken up for discussion in the parliament last week.

The chairman of the upper house of the Indian parliament Hamid Ansari had said it was more advisable for passengers to bring their own linen.

The Press Trust of India quoted a railway official as saying that the new blankets would be introduced on a few "premier" trains before being rolled out across the service.

The state-run Indian Railways operates more than 12,000 trains, carrying some 23 million passengers every day.