Railway Assault Concerns: Minister Addresses Parliament

In 2025, three reported assaults on passengers by pantry car staff have highlighted overcharging issues on Indian Railways. Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw outlined the use of the RailMadad grievance platform to address these concerns. Measures, including SMS updates and POS machines, aim to tackle overcharging effectively.

In a noteworthy revelation to the Lok Sabha, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw confirmed three incidents of physical assault by pantry car staff on passengers reported in 2025.

The revelations surfaced during a session where BJP MP Rajeev Pratap Rudy raised concerns about passengers being threatened after complaints of overcharging by railway vendors. Vaishnaw pointed to the RailMadad platform as a key tool in grievance redressal, seamlessly integrating multiple complaint channels such as helplines, apps, and SMS services.

Despite the serious nature of these incidents, no separate data on such assaults is compiled by Indian Railways. Measures such as sending SMS menus and installing POS machines for transparent transactions have been introduced. Ongoing efforts have resulted in fines of Rs 2.6 crore over three years, as part of a larger strategy to address overcharging.

(With inputs from agencies.)