New Delhi: Three incidents of assault on passengers by pantry car staff have been reported in 2025, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnao told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
The minister said this in a written response to BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy’s questions regarding passengers’ complaints of physical assault and threats after they reported overcharging for food and other services by railway employee vendors.
Vaishnaw said that RailMadad is the grievance redressal mechanism of Indian Railways which provides passengers with an integrated platform for grievances, assistance and inquiries.
“At RailMadad, passengers can request compensation through multiple channels such as helpline number 139, RailMadad website, app and SMS.
“RailMadad also allows passengers to share their feedback on the resolution of their complaints,” the minister said.
Vaishnau informed the House that grievances regarding overcharging of food and other catering services in trains are being received through RailMadad. However, no separate data is maintained in the app about passengers being physically assaulted or threatened by vendors working in the railways after complaining of overcharging for food and other services.
The minister said that in 2025, three incidents of assault on railway passengers by supply wagon employees were reported, and legal action was taken by the relevant State Railway Police.
“Indian Railways serves approximately 58 crore meals annually across its trains, with average complaints of only around 0.0008 per cent, which includes complaints related to overcharging. After investigating these complaints, fines amounting to $“Rs 2.6 lakh crore has been levied over the last three years,” Vaishnau said.
The Minister highlighted the various measures taken to reduce overcharging on trains, and said that SMS messages are being sent to passengers containing a link to the menu and prices to make them aware of the prices. Point of sale (POS) devices have also been installed for billing and cashless payments, among other measures.
