Vande Bharat Express food complaint: The has summoned Amul and sought an explanation over serious quality concerns regarding the curd served on the Patna-Tatanagar . The move comes after Railway Board said that the incident reflects gross negligence on the part of the service provider in maintaining the required food safety and hygiene standards for passengers.
Speaking to Indianexpress.com, Virender Bhatti, Additional General Manager, IRCTC has confirmed the development. He said that IRCTC has viewed the complaints very seriously about quality of AMUL CURD served in Patna- Vande Bharat train.
“Coming down heavily on the Licensee & Amul, apart from imposing hefty penalty, process of terminating the contract and blacklisting the licensee of the train, IRCTC has summoned the ‘Amul’ on 27th March for explanation about the grave Quality concern related to Amul Curd,” he said.
In a letter dated March 25, to the IRCTC Chairman, the Railway Board (RB) said a passenger complaint about a worm found in food served on Train No. 21896 PNBE– Vande Bharat Express on March 15, 2026, has been taken very seriously. The Board noted that the incident points to a lack of proper supervision by IRCTC.
“Considering the gravity of the lapses, the Competent Authority has decided to impose a fine of Rs. 10,00,000 (10 lakhs) on IRCTC for such deficiency in services,” RB said in the letter.
The Railway Board also imposed a Rs 50 lakh penalty on the concerned service provider based on the complaint. “This incident reflects gross negligence on the part of the service provider of the train in maintaining required food safety and hygiene standards to the passengers.
Considering the gravity of the lapses, IRCTC is advised to impose a fine of Rs. 50,00,000 (fifty lakhs) on the concerned licensee of the train and terminate the contract for such deficiency in services. Action taken by IRCTC should be reported to Board accordingly,” it said in the letter.
