Indian Railways: For millions of Indians, train journeys are a part of daily lives. Indian Railways serves millions of meals every day, making it one of the largest catering networks in the world. But behind the convenience of a hot train thali lies a growing concern: food safety.
Several instances in the recent past along with a widely-circulated Trustified video have reignited public anxiety about the quality and safety profiles of Indian Railways’ thalis.
Indian Railways-A Growing Pattern of Complaints
In 2025-26, more than 9000 complaints were filed regarding the poor quality of food items on train, ranging from stale meals to insects and unhygienic preparation conditions.
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Recently, a passenger complained about the quality of food on train number 21896 (Patna-Tatanagar Vande Bharat Express). Indian Railways took a strong reaction on it and slapped a fine of Rs. 10 lakh on IRCTC and of Rs. 50 lakh on the contractor.
Another instance pertains to a passenger in 3AC coach of 20507 Rajdhani Express running between Rangiya and Anand Vihar Terminal. The dinner had insects and IRCTC heavily fined the service provider and sealed the kitchen for cleaning and pest control.
Reputed milk food provider Amul has called by Indian Railways after curd served on the Patna-Tatanagar Vande Bharat Express failed to clear the required food safety and hygiene standards for passengers.
Trustified Video
A video by Trustified revealed that the food served on Indian Railway trains indicated the presence of heavy metals such as copper, mercury, cadmium, arsenic and lead. Moreover, aerobic plate count, Bacillus cereus, clostridium perfringens, escherichia coli and enterobacteriaceae were also found.
Why Does This Keep Happening?
Several structural issues contribute to the problem:
- Mass-scale catering pressure: Indian Railways need to serve millions every day via Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, making quality control extremely challenging.
- Outsourced vendors: Multiple third-party contractors handle food preparation, leading to inconsistent standards.
- Storage and transport issues: Food may remain unrefrigerated for hours.
- Poor hygiene audits: Inspections often fail to detect real-time lapses.
Note: This Article has been done on the information provided in this viral video/ post. DNP India doesn’t endorse, subscribe or verify the claims.
