Hygiene-Related Complaints by Railway Passengers Surge 500% Over Two Years

Between March 2022 and February 2024, complaints about food quality and hygiene on Indian Railways have surged by a staggering 500%. An RTI response obtained by CNBC-TV18 reveals that even premium services like Vande Bharat, Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, and Mail Express have seen a significant increase in passenger grievances. The number of complaints escalated to 6,948 between April 2023 and February 2024, a sharp rise from 1,192 at the end of March 2022, according to the Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).

Meanwhile, the total number of catering complaints was 11,850 between April 2021 and February 2024. In light of these complaints, the IRCTC has issued 68 showcause notices, and three contracts were cancelled between January 2021 and March 2024, the reply added.

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Poor food quality: A persistent problem

Earlier, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), in its 2017 report, highlighted the issue of poor food quality in Indian Railways. The report revealed that Indian Railways’ caterers have “consistently failed to protect the food served to passengers from flies, insects, dust, rats, and cockroaches”.

Another piece of data, quoted in the CNBC-TV18 report, suggests that a total of 123 complaints were received regarding stale food and food items containing dead insects, flies, and cockroaches being served to passengers on Vande Bharat trains between April 2023 and February 2024.

In 2022, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha that the railways’ catering arm, the IRCTC, had received more than 5,000 complaints related to the quality of food on trains over seven months.

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Railway Board Issues New Measures to Address Catering Complaints on Vande Bharat Trains

In 2023, the Railway Board mandated various railway zones and the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to adopt immediate measures to tackle complaints about catering services on Vande Bharat trains. The directive includes ensuring that announcements on these trains inform passengers about meal availability and enhancing food quality. Additionally, Indian Railways has introduced penalties ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 5 lakh and possible contract terminations for those failing to maintain proper hygiene standards in food preparation and delivery.

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