The Ministry of Railways vide Commercial Circular No. 25 of 2022 has given IRCTC flexibility to Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd. (IRCTC) to customize the menu in trains to include items of regional cuisines, seasonal delicacies and health food options, including millet-based products.

Under the above mandate, the menu has been designed by IRCTC based on passenger feedback.

IRCTC has introduced regional cuisines from time to time to offer a personalised experience to passengers of different regions. Some of the regional cuisines introduced in trains are as under:-

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Introduction of these regional/local dishes has given passengers the opportunity to enjoy authentic local flavors and connect with the local culture.

Also, Railmadad is 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.

Indian Railways serves nearly 58 crore meals annually across its trains, with complaints averaging only about 0.0008%, which includes complaints related to overcharging. Following inquiries into these complaints, fines amounting to ₹2.6 crore have been imposed over the past three years. During the year 2025, 3 incidents of assault on railway passengers by Pantry Car staff have been reported. Legal action has been taken against the Pantry Car staff by the respective Government Railway Police.

Indian Railways continuously endeavour to make available food items to the travelling passengers as per the prescribed rates. Necessary steps are accordingly taken by Indian Railways from time to time to ensure the same. Following steps have been taken by Railways to curb overcharging in trains:

• SMS is sent to passengers with a link of menu and tariff to make them aware of rates.
• Installation of Point of Sale (POS) machines for billing and cashless payments.
• Conducting awareness campaigns to promote billing and curb overcharging.
• Rates stickers on Packaged Drinking Water (PDW) Buckets and Tea/Coffee urns.
• Introduction of e-pantry service in Mail/Express trains to facilitate passengers to book meals through an online module.
• Implementation of QR code enabled Identity Cards to onboard catering staff.
• Distribution of pamphlets to create awareness regarding the rate of catering items and Packaged Drinking Water bottles.
• Special Inspection Drives to check overcharging and billing issues.
• Imposition of suitable penalty in cases of overcharging, if any.
• In case any such incident in trains is reported, prompt and appropriate punitive action is taken against the service providers for deficiency in service.

This information was provided by the Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a reply to questions in Lok Sabha on March 25, 2026.