Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday held a review meeting with senior railway officials to discuss the introduction of local and regional cuisine on board Vande Bharat trains, aiming to significantly enhance passenger experience.
During the meeting at Rail Bhawan in New Delhi, the minister said that serving regional food would allow passengers to experience the culture and culinary diversity of the regions through which the trains operate. He noted that meals reflecting local tastes and traditions would make train journeys more enjoyable and distinctive. Vaishnaw added that the initiative would be rolled out in a phased manner and eventually extended to other trains across the Indian Railways network.
Vande Bharat Train: Crackdown on Fake Ticket Bookings Shows Results
The Railway Minister also reviewed the progress of Indian Railways’ ongoing crackdown on fake ticket bookings and misuse of the IRCTC platform. He said that the introduction of a stricter identity verification system to detect fake and duplicate user accounts has yielded encouraging results.
According to Vaishnaw, around 5,000 genuine new user IDs are now being created daily on the IRCTC website. This is a significant change compared to the earlier situation, when nearly one lakh new IDs were being generated every day, many of which were found to be fake or suspicious.
He informed officials that so far, Indian Railways has deactivated approximately 3.03 crore fake IRCTC accounts. In addition, around 2.7 crore user IDs have either been temporarily suspended or flagged for suspension due to suspicious booking patterns and irregular activities.
Focus on Fair and Transparent Ticketing System
In the presence of Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu, Vaishnaw directed officials to further strengthen the ticketing system to ensure fairness and transparency. He stressed that the objective is to create a system where every genuine passenger can easily book tickets using a valid user ID without interference from automated bots or fake accounts.
The minister said these reforms are essential to protect the interests of ordinary passengers and to restore trust in the online ticketing system. Officials were asked to continue monitoring the system closely and introduce technological upgrades wherever required to prevent misuse.
