KOLLAM: If you thought passengers who board AC coaches in trains are decent travellers, you are mistaken. It appears there is no dearth of petty thieves inside AC coaches either. Not even dustbins are spared, apparently. As many as 129 blankets, 138 pillows, 1,129 bedsheets, 335 pillow covers and 11,570 face towels... the list of items stolen from trains in Palakkad division from December 2024 to November 2025 seems endless. Going by an RTI response obtained by TNIE, the Palakkad division alone suffered losses to the tune of Rs 8.71 lakh during this time.
A detailed look into theft in trains paints an amusing picture. As many as 328 gravity cock (water taps), three health faucets, 23 stainless steel mugs, five dustbins, four stainless steel dustbins and four fire extinguishers figure among items stolen from trains in just one division under the Southern Railway. These are not isolated cases, with similar incidents having occurred in the other five divisions of the zone too.
Going by the data from Southern Railway, the Salem division reported a theft of 167 taps to the tune of Rs 14,370. The accused in these cases were convicted and punished. While one of them was given a simple imprisonment of 129 days and fined Rs 2,000, another was imprisoned for 162 days, and yet another got a 24-days jail term.
From November 2024 to October 2025, the total loss incurred by the mechanical branch of Tiruchirapalli division is Rs 17.14 lakh. In its RTI reply, the division said during 2025 as many as 85 flush pipes were stolen. A total of 22 bedsheets, 27 pillow covers, 16 bath towels, four blankets, and a pillow were stolen from first AC coaches of trains under Tiruchirapalli.
The situation is similar with the Chennai division, where soft blankets, bedsheets, steel mug, pillow, and towels were stolen, with the exact number not provided.
“The costs corresponding to the quantity of lost linens are recovered from the contractor’s bill in accordance with the provisions of the contract,” the Southern Railway said.
Interestingly, the Thiruvananthapuram Railway Division chose not to respond to the RTI query.
According to the Railway Property Unlawful Possession Act 1966, there is a penalty for theft, dishonest misappropriation, or unlawful possession of railway property. The culprits will get imprisonment up to five years or fine.
With thefts becoming a regular affair, the RPF has now upped the ante. “Railway items are maintained by multiple departments that carry out primary and secondary inspections on trains, and whenever items are stolen from the trains, they do alert us and a case is registered and culprits arrested,” a senior RPF official said.
“Railway officials keep visiting the yards to check the items and also keep a watch on previous offenders,” the official added.