Cockroach found in meal on Vande Bharat Express; IRCTC apologises

A passenger travelling on the Rani Kamalapati (Habibganj)–Hazrat Nizamuddin Vande Bharat Express on July 24 was shocked and repulsed to find a cockroach in the meal served by IRCTC.

This incident once again underscores the dire need to overhaul food services provided by IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) and its licensees.

The angry passenger then shared the picture of the chapati with the cockroach on Twitter. This triggered widespread outrage raising questions again about food quality on Indian trains.

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The IRCTC quickly reacted to the tweet and apologised for the passenger’s unpleasant experience. They told the public that they have taken strict action against the concerned service provider and charged him a hefty penalty of ₹25,000. And ensured that more monitoring measures will be undertaken at the source kitchen to prevent similar incidents in the future.

The divisional railway manager of Bhopal also tweeted on the issue saying that the IRCTC had immediately organised alternative food for the passenger and the licensee penalised.  The spokesperson of West Central Railway revealed that besides the ₹25,000 penalty, the licensee was warned.

News reports said that after this incident, the Jabalpur-headquartered West Central Railway has announced plans to increase the frequency of periodic checks at licensee kitchens.