Watch: Pantry Staff Charges Passenger Rs 5 Extra For Water Bottle, Railways Reacts

A pantry staff member from IRCTC was recently captured on camera selling Rail Neer mineral water bottles, priced at Rs 15, for Rs 20 on an express train journeying from Gandhidham Junction in Gujarat to Kamakhya Junction in Assam.

A video shared on the X platform depicts the staff initially selling the bottle to passengers for Rs 20. When questioned about the additional Rs 5 charge, the employee hesitates and eventually refunds the excess amount to the commuter.

This incident is believed to have occurred on the Kamakhya Express.

Reacting to the viral video, Railway Seva wrote, “Sir, kindly share PNR and mobile number preferably in Direct Message (DM)   – IRCTC Official.”

On January 6, the citizen’s forum that posted the video asserted that no measures were taken in response.

@AshwiniVaishnaw @RailMadad @RailwaySeva @drmbct @grpmumbai @RailMinIndia
22511 Express Passengers R openly looted by the pantry contractor, #RailNeer was sold at 20₹. Evidence attached below 4strict action. Note: Complaint should be inquired frm Railway officers Not fem IRCTC. pic.twitter.com/L3BWvfjzqt

— Kalyan Citizen’s Forum (KCF) (@Kalyan_KCF) November 28, 2023

The Railways have been under scrutiny, especially during the festive season, for subpar service, maintenance issues, delays, and overcrowded trains.

Earlier, a Kanpur man shared his plight on X (formerly Twitter) after his train was delayed by nine hours. He stated that he had no other choice but to hire an interstate taxi from Kanpur to Jhansi to avoid missing his connecting train. Even though he had a verified Tatkal ticket that he purchased for Rs 1,500, unfortunately, he had to spend Rs 4,500 for the cab journey to get to his destination on time. 

“The train that I have to take at 1.15 pm at Kanpur arrived 9 hours late. I had to catch Rajdhani at Jhansi at 8.15 pm. So I came to know about (the train being) late at 2 pm. I have no other option other than taking Ola for Rs 4,500. And the Tatkal ticket was bought for Rs 1,500. Total Rs 6,000 loss,” the user wrote on X on Wednesday.