IRCTC Reports 500% Surge in Catering Complaints; Food Contaminated with Flies, Rats, and Cockroaches

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has reported a staggering 500 percent rise in complaints about Indian Railways' catering services from March 2022 to February 2024. The surge in grievances highlights issues with the quality of food served on trains, including the presence of flies, insects, dust, rats, and cockroaches.

In response to an RTI application, IRCTC disclosed that complaints about the quality of food on Indian Railways have surged by 500 percent between March 2022 and February 2024. The rise in grievances includes issues reported on luxury trains such as Vande Bharat, Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, and Mail Express, with complaints citing the presence of flies, insects, dust, rats, and cockroaches in the food.

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Over the past year, there has been a tremendous increase in the number of complaints from passengers regarding railway food. Between April 2023 and February 2024, complaints surged to 6,948, up from just 1,192 at the end of March 2022. In total, 11,850 complaints were recorded from April 2021 to February 2024.

In response to the rising number of complaints, IRCTC has issued show cause notices to 68 establishments. Between January 2021 and March 2024, three catering contracts were terminated out of 1,518. The 2017 Audit Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had previously highlighted severe issues with food hygiene, including the presence of flies, insects, dust, rats, and cockroaches in train food.