Linen theft on Indian Railways AC coaches crosses 1.27 crore; contractors bear ₹104 cr loss

New Delhi: At least 1.27 crore bedroll items — bedsheets, towels, blankets, pillows and pillow covers — have been reported stolen from Indian Railways AC coaches between January 2022 and May 2026, an investigation by The Indian Express using Right to Information (RTI) replies from 54 railway divisions found.

Theft of linen has risen 56% since 2022, the compiled data shows, amounting to roughly one in every 1,000 AC passengers walking away with at least one item per trip. Face towels were the most commonly stolen item (46.54 lakh), followed by bedsheets (41.13 lakh), pillow covers (23.59 lakh), blankets (12.95 lakh) and pillows (2.76 lakh).

Ten divisions across seven zones accounted for 67% of reported thefts. Bikaner led with 25.76 lakh items missing, followed by Ranchi (9.31 lakh), Delhi (8.21 lakh), Mumbai (8.17 lakh), Jodhpur (8.09 lakh), Ahmedabad (6.94 lakh), Danapur (5.72 lakh) and others. Bikaner recorded the largest spike since 2022, rising from 2.99 lakh to 12.34 lakh items; Sonpur and several Bihar divisions also recorded sharp increases. By contrast, Delhi reported a 79% fall in thefts, while Tiruchirappalli and Palakkad reported none.

The financial impact falls mainly on private bedroll contractors and their staff. The investigation estimates losses at about Rs 104.51 crore over the period, a figure likely conservative because some divisions provided incomplete data. Contractors say the Railways recovers the cost of missing items from their bills, and they in turn often deduct losses from attendants’ pay. Attendants quoted in the report said monthly deductions of several thousand rupees are common.

Railways officials called linen theft a “serious concern” and said steps are being taken to prevent it. The ministry said it found no conclusive evidence of staff collusion. Preventive measures across divisions include CCTV installation, use of the Coach Mitra app to track linen issuance and boarding, counselling and sensitisation of attendants, police verification of contractor staff, and reprinting instructions that passengers must return linen 30 minutes before disembarkation. Some divisions have introduced a dedicated attendant per AC coach.

Under a Railway Board circular, the cost of a missing item is recovered at 100% of purchase price if it is within half its codal service life, 50% if beyond that, or 75% if service life cannot be determined. The Indian Express’ RTI requests did not cover two zones (South Coast Railway and Kolkata Metro); 14 responding divisions did not provide figures for all linen categories and nine did not provide cost data, suggesting the true loss may be higher.