An X user’s complaint about a ₹150 thali being sold for ₹220 on an Indian Railways train has sparked a wider conversation about overcharging at railway canteens. The incident, which surfaced on social media, has brought passenger rights and the Railways’ complaint system back into sharp focus.
Indian Railways has a clear policy: vendors cannot charge extra for chapatis or any item already included in a pre-booked meal. Yet passengers continue to report inflated bills.
The trick is not new. Vendors inflate bills by adding unrequested items, an extra roti, a side portion, without informing the customer. One passenger recently reported paying ₹20 for tea priced at ₹10. When he questioned the vendor, the reply was that extra milk had been used.
Such practices go unchallenged because most travellers do not know their rights.
Indian Railways operates a 24×7 toll-free helpline, 139, that handles food complaints directly. Passengers who call 139 and press 3 can register food-related complaints instantly. Multiple passengers have reported that managers and staff arrive within minutes of a complaint being filed.
Inquiries into overcharging complaints over the past three years have resulted in fines totalling ₹2.6 crore. Railways recently fined IRCTC ₹10 lakh following a food quality complaint on the Patna-Tatanagar Vande Bharat Express and levied a ₹50 lakh fine on the service provider, terminating their contract.
Canteen vendors on trains are not government employees, they operate under private contracts. Overcharging attracts financial penalties against the vendor, not the passenger. Every food stall on a train must display a fixed price menu by law.
The 139 helpline works in 12 Indian languages and does not require a smartphone.
Railway officials urge passengers to check the printed menu, demand an itemised bill, and call 139 immediately if the amount charged does not match the listed price.
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