Akshay Bajpayee | New Delhi13 hours ago
Date: 1 January
What happened: A passenger on the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Tejas Rajdhani Express shared a video, claiming the food served was “not fit for human consumption” and could cause food poisoning.
Date: 23 January
What happened: On the Kamakhya-Howrah Vande Bharat Express, passengers received half-cooked rice, hard rotis, and very small food portions.
Date: 25 January
What happened: On the Kamakhya-Howrah Vande Bharat Express, passengers were served foul-smelling dal. Following complaints, catering staff threw away the food themselves.
Date: 7 May
What happened: A passenger was sold a water bottle priced at Rs 15 for Rs 20. After filing an online complaint, the pantry car staff physically assaulted the passenger.
IRCTC received 6,645 such complaints in 2024–25. Most were about missing menu items, overcharging, stale or poor-quality food, and insufficient quantities.
Dainik Bhaskar investigated the issues in the railway catering system and why good service is not provided, even though passengers pay in advance for premium trains.
Who are the stakeholders
IRCTC: Responsible for contracts, monitoring, and action
Tender Companies: Responsible for food preparation, transport, and serving
Railway Board: Responsible for policy and system improvements
Passengers: Paying but not receiving good service
Read on to understand the problems, what’s wrong, and who is responsible.
First Responsible: IRCTC
Not stopping monopoly, contracts not cancelled despite complaints
IRCTC provides meal services on trains through private companies. Contracts last five years, with a possible two-year extension based on performance.
Most premium train contracts (Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, Vande Bharat, Tejas) are held by a single company: RK Group.
Out of 265 trains in Cluster A, RK Group holds 218 contracts. Between 2021 and 2024, Railways received 1,910 complaints against this group.
Other companies also received complaints:
- Classic Caterers: 1,439
- P Shiva Prasad: 1,208
- Vrindavan Food Products (RK Group): 1,196
- Express Food Services: 1,162
The Railway policy has no ceiling limit, allowing monopoly and eliminating competition. The 2017 CAG report presented in Parliament also warned that the absence of a ceiling promoted monopolisation.
Second Responsible Party: Contracting Companies
High bids, cost pressure, poor quality
IRCTC sets a reserve price based on annual sales for each train. This becomes the minimum license fee for the tender, currently 15%.
Investigations show companies bid up to 70% above the reserve price to win contracts.
The 2017 CAG report noted that such high bids were unrealistic. This cost pressure led companies to cut quality, reduce portions, or overcharge passengers.
IRCTC’s Letter of Award (LOA) dated 24 April 2024 shows 10 trains’ catering given to Vrindavan Food Products (RK Group) from 8 September 2026 to 14 July 2029.
Companies depositing up to 70% more than the annual fee raises questions about how they can serve quality food, pay staff, and make a profit from the remaining 30%.
Example: Passengers are being overcharged and served smaller meals to maintain profits.
IRCTC admits quality issues due to monopoly
In a letter to the Railway Ministry on 28 November 2025, IRCTC noted that some firms hold monopolies. Companies paying high license fees compromise on food quality and cannot fully meet tender conditions.
Third Responsible: Railway Board
Rules broken, no action
The Railway Board sets policy, menus, rates, monitors IRCTC, and handles complaints.
2010 policy: No contractor could hold more than 10% of total contracts.
Large groups bypassed this by creating multiple companies.
2017 policy: Ceiling limit removed entirely.
On 14 November 2023, Railways stated clusters and base kitchens are divided into two groups, A and B. Cluster A includes premium prepaid trains.
Rules allow only 1–2 premium trains per cluster. But Railways gave 7 premium trains out of 10 to a single company on one route. IRCTC repeatedly broke policy, and the Board did not intervene.
6,645 Complaints About Poor Food
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told Parliament that IRCTC received 6,645 complaints in 2024–25.
Fines: 1,341 cases
Warnings: 2,995 cases
Advisories: 1,547 cases
Other actions: 762 cases
Dainik Bhaskar sent questions to IRCTC but has not received a response. The story will be updated once a reply comes.
RK Group CEO and President Kailash Agarwal said he was in a meeting and would comment later.
