NEW DELHI, May 26 (Xinhua) — The state-owned Indian Railways decided to sell condoms and sanitary pads at its stations across the country, an official said Saturday.

"A new toilet policy to this effect has been approved by India's Railway Board. As per the policy, small kiosks will soon be set up at toilets both inside and outside railway stations in India to sell low-cost sanitary pads for woman and condoms," said the railway official.

"The kiosks outside the railway stations can be used by people living in the vicinity of the train stations," he added.

The Indian Railways is one of the world's largest train networks, criss-crossing the country from north to south. It operates some 9,000 passenger trains and carries nearly 23 million passengers every day.

The vast public enterprise is sometimes referred to as a semi-state. It runs schools, hospitals, owns police force and construction companies, and has 1.3 million people on its payroll, making it one of the biggest employers in the world.

However, train disasters are common in India as much of the colonial-era rail infrastructure is out of date. A number of people are killed in train accidents, mostly derailments, across the country every year.

In 2015, the government pledged 137 billion U.S. dollars over five years to modernize and expand the railways.