"It is a basic need and we have tried to provide toilet facility for loco pilots in the locomotives itself," Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal told PTI today after inspecting the first diesel engine fitted with a toilet and wash basin at the New Delhi station.

Till now, locomotives did not have toilet facility leaving the driver to use toilets at stations depending upon the halt time. Drivers have been demanding such facility in the engines for a long time.

In a retro-fitting exercise, the Railways have provided a toilet and wash basin in a 3300 HP diesel engine as part of a pilot project. The retro-fitting of toilet has been done at the Charbagh workshop in Lucknow.

"Toilet has been provided on a trial basis and we are planning to replicate the exercise in other locomotives used in the long distance travel," Bansal said.

Such toilet facility is expected to benefit drivers in trains like Rajdhani which have less stoppages.