New Delhi, Mar 25 (PTI) Three incidents of assault on passengers by pantry car staff were reported in 2025, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
The minister said this in a written reply to questions by BJP MP Rajeev Pratap Rudy regarding passengers’ complaints of physical assault and threat after they flagged overcharging for food and other services by railway staff vendors.
Vaishnaw said ‘RailMadad’ is the Indian Railways’ grievance redressal mechanism that provides passengers an integrated platform for grievances, assistance and inquiry.
“In RailMadad, passengers can seek redressal through multiple channels such as helpline number-139, RailMadad Web, app and SMS.
“RailMadad also allows passengers to share feedback on the resolution of their grievances,” the minister said.
Vaishnaw informed the House that grievances related to overcharging of food and other catering services in trains are received through RailMadad. However, no separate data about passengers being physically assaulted or threatened by railway staff vendors after complaining about overcharging for food and other services is maintained in the application.
In 2025, the minister said, three incidents of assault on railway passengers by pantry car staff were reported and legal action was taken by the respective Government Railway Police.
“Indian Railways serves nearly 58 crore meals annually across its trains, with complaints averaging only about 0.0008 per cent, which includes complaints related to overcharging. Following inquiries into these complaints, fines amounting to Rs 2.6 crore have been imposed over the past three years,” Vaishnaw said.
Highlighting various measures taken to curb overcharging in trains, the minister said SMSes are sent to passengers with a link to the menu and prices to make them aware of rates. Point of Sale (POS) machines have also been installed for billing and cashless payments, among other measures. PTI JP DIV DIV
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