As we all know, Indian railways is the fourth-largest railway network in the world and is known for its wide-ranging reach and interconnectedness throughout the nation.
However, the food and hygiene services provided by the Indian Railways have come under criticism numerous times. Hygiene standards in the dining carriages and at the stops are mostly poor, and the food quality is really very poor and unappetizing.
Moreover, this sometimes results in passengers falling ill and damaging the reputation of the Indian Railways.
And if you are thinking this problem is with only standard trains, then you are wrong. These issues can also be found in high-tech trains such as the Vande Bharat Express.
A passenger by the name of Viresh Narkar took to Twitter a while ago to voice his dissatisfaction with the quality of food served on the recently inaugurated Mumbai-Shirdi “Vande Bharat Express” train.
The passenger shared a photo, which has since been circulating on the internet, showing the “dusty cornflakes” that were served to him during his journey to Sainagar Shirdi. The incident took place just two days after the train’s official launch.
Passenger tweeted a few issues about Vande Bharat Express
While addressing the train as “magnificent,” Narkar also pointed out its flaws, including where the executive class cars were located and how they were cleaned. He shared two pictures on Twitter, one of a cleaning staff member picking up trash and the other of the cornflakes that were given to him.
Taking to Twitter, he wrote,
“Travelling by Magnificat Vande Bharat express to Shirdi. Few problem that can be improved 1) Executive Class is given in middle of train, hence other class people keep moving continuously and there is no privacy even after paying more. EC should be at front or back of train.”
Travelling by Magnificat Vande Bharat express to Shirdi.
Few problem that can be improved
1) Executive Class is given in middle of train, hence other class people keep moving continuously and there is no privacy even after paying more. EC should be at front or back of train. pic.twitter.com/OfQiMoZXNS— Viresh Narkar (@vireshnarkar) February 12, 2023
In another tweet, he added,
“2) Since the flooring is carpet now, Dyson Vacuum cleaners should be provided instead of traditional method of sweeping the floor. @Central_Railway @RailMinIndia @AshwiniVaishnaw @GM_CRly Also the food quality can be improved, no1 prefers dusty cornflakes in India.”
2) Since the flooring is carpet now, Dyson Vacuum cleaners should be provided instead of traditional method of sweeping the floor. @Central_Railway @RailMinIndia @AshwiniVaishnaw @GM_CRly
Also the food quality can be improved, no1 prefers dusty cornflakes in India. pic.twitter.com/60BbrMmwuq— Viresh Narkar (@vireshnarkar) February 12, 2023
Soon, his tweet attracted many kinds of mixed reactions, and Indian Railways also reacted to it.
Taking to Twitter, the official Twitter account of India Railways wrote
“Your complaint has been registered on RailMadad and complaint no. has been sent through SMS on your mobile no. You may track your complaint via this link https://railmadad.indianrailways.gov.in/madad/final/home.jsp -IRCTC Official”
Your complaint has been registered on RailMadad and complaint no. has been sent through SMS on your mobile no. You may track your complaint via this link https://t.co/5jRBcotw4J
-IRCTC Official
— RailwaySeva (@RailwaySeva) February 12, 2023
In February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated two new Vande Bharat Express trains to the country. The two semi-high-speed trains—one between Mumbai and Solapur and the other between Mumbai and Shirdi—were launched during an inaugural event in Mumbai.
However, this is not the first incident of subpar services on the Vande Bharat Express. A journalist earlier this month shared a video of a man showing the quality of the food offered on the Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat train. The man in the video observed a significant amount of oil being squeezed out of a fried food item.
Indian Railways need to take an action as a result of a number of serious issues that are increasing rapidly and are degrading the level of service they offer to passengers. For the Indian Railways to continue to be one of the biggest and most significant railway networks in the world, it is need of an hour to modernize its infrastructure, increase operational effectiveness maintain the food quality standards and upgrade the facilities and services it offers to passengers.
