New rail link to world's coldest city opens

‘The air is cold enough to numb exposed skin quickly, making frostbite a constant hazard’

The world’s coldest city is now easier to reach, thanks to a new rail link.

Yakutsk in north-east Siberia has been connected to the Russian rail network – almost.

The European Rail Timetable (ERT) reports that passenger trains have started running on the Amur-Yakutsk main line, known as AYAM.

This is effectively a 700-mile spur from the small city of Tynda on the Baikal-Amur Railway (BAM), which itself branches off from the Trans-Siberian Railway.

Yakutsk is the capital of the diamond-rich Sakha Republic. Until now passenger services have ended about halfway along, at Tommot. This was previously the limit of passenger services.

But the ERT compilers report that a passenger train is now running on alternate days to cover the 272 miles over the permafrost to the closest station to Yakutsk: Nizhny Bestyakh.

At this point, though, the passenger’s problems could only be beginning – because Yakutsk is on the other side of the Lena river, which stretches several miles across at this point.

In summer, ferries cross the Lena, and in winter when the river is frozen, vehicle drive across. But the ERT says: “There is no way to cross the river in spring or autumn due to moving ice.”

Travellers do not have to wait long for winter. The river normally freezes at Yakutsk in late October, and remains frozen for 30 weeks.

Yakutsk has an average high of -35C in December. At this temperature, reported Shaun Walker for The Independent, “The air is cold enough to numb exposed skin quickly, making frostbite a constant hazard.”

When he ventured outside in a temperature of minus 43C, he reported: “The first place to suffer is the exposed skin on my face, which begins to sting, and then experience shooting pains, before going numb, which is apparently dangerous, because it means blood flow to the skin has stopped.”

He abandoned the experiment after 13 minutes.

But Henry Lansdell, a British traveller who visited late 19th century, wrote: “Yakutsk has the credit of being the coldest place upon the face of the earth.

“So accustomed, however, do the natives become to the cold, that with the thermometer at unheard-of degrees below freezing point, the Yakut women, with bare arms, stand in the open-air markets, chattering and joking as pleasantly as if in genial spring.”

The rail journey from Moscow takes about a week, with a third-class fare equivalent to £130. In summer, however, the new rail link may prove more tempting than the existing terrestrial transport: a five-day, 1,250-mile journey by the Krasnoyarsk paddle-steamer departing every 17 days from the Siberian river port of Ust Kut.

Another visitor, Margaret Campbell, wrote in The Independent: “The Krasnoyarsk is not a cruise ship and amenities are basic. One hot meal a day is served in the ship’s canteen. Showers cost about 25p each. Toilets are seat-less and paper-less.”

But passengers are treated to a slow-motion journey through the world’s largest country: ”The fir, larch and cedar trees were occasionally separated by meadows clustered around hamlets that may or may not have been ghost villages.

“Chekhov’s description of the taiga was apt: ‘Where it ends, only the migrating birds know’.”

Most travellers between Moscow and Yakutsk prefer to fly. There are several daily flights from the Russian capital to the city, a distance of around 3,100 miles.

(Source: Independent)

Rail line in Hampshire is world's first to be powered by solar farm

Pilot scheme on Network Rail’s Wessex route could pave way for direct powering of trains

The world’s first solar farm to power a railway line directly is due to plug into the track near Aldershot, paving the way for solar-powered trains.

From Friday, about 100 solar panels at the trackside site will supply renewable electricity to power the signalling and lights on Network Rail’s Wessex route.

The 30kW pilot scheme could pave the way for a larger project capable of directly powering the trains that use this route from next year.

 The solar farm at Aldershot, part of a scheme has been developed by the charity 10:10 Climate Action and Imperial College London. Photograph: Stephen Barney

The solar breakthrough comes as Network Rail plans to spend billions of pounds electrifying rail lines to avoid running trains on diesel. This could help reduce air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and costs.

Solar panels are already used to power the operations of train stations, including Blackfriars in central London. But the Aldershot project is the first time a solar array will bypass the electricity grid to plug directly into a railway’s “traction” system.

Network Rail hopes to use the scheme, developed by the charity 10:10 Climate Action and Imperial College London, to solar-charge its rail lines across the country.

Stuart Kistruck, a director for Network Rail’s Wessex route, said: “We have ambitions to roll this technology out further across the network should this demonstrator project prove successful, so we can deliver a greener, better railway for our passengers and the wider public.”

The research team behind the project, called Riding Sunbeams, estimates that solar could power 20% of the Merseyrail network in Liverpool, as well as 15% of commuter routes in Kent, Sussex and Wessex.

There is also scope for solar trams in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Nottingham, London and Manchester, according to the team.

The researchers began work on the plans over two years ago to discover whether bypassing the electricity grid could make solar power a more efficient energy source for trains.

Innovate UK awarded the project funding from the Department of Transport after it proved that connecting solar power directly to rail, tube and tram networks could help meet a significant share of their electricity needs.

 An aerial view of the trackside solar farm .

The falling cost of solar power technologies means these subsidy-free solar farms could supply electricity at a lower cost than the electricity supplied via the grid.

The findings come as plans to electrify Britain’s rail lines have faltered in recent years owing to concern about costs.

Leo Murray, the director of Riding Sunbeams, said future projects across the UK could be community-owned, and pay back benefits to local community funds. By the end of 2020, Riding Sunbeams hopes to build and connect the world’s first-ever full-scale community- and commuter-owned solar farm to UK railways.

Murray said the railways will be able to cut their running costs and benefit local communities while playing a part in tackling the climate crisis. “Matchmaking the UK’s biggest electricity user, the railways, with the nation’s favourite energy source, solar power, looks like the start of the perfect relationship.”

Murray added that the same model could be used across the world, particularly in sunny countries in South America, and India.

India is already home to 250 trains powered by solar panels attached directly to the roof of the train, but it plans to develop its own trackside solar farms because the weight of the panels means their trains need more energy than usual.

Indian Railways, the country’s single largest energy consumer, said last month it hoped to become the world’s first 100% “green” railway network in 10 years’ time by installing 30GW of solar generation capacity on some of its 51,000 hectares of vacant land.

The plan is part of India’s drive to replace polluting coal-fired power with cleaner energy sources, including as much as 100GW of solar power.

By 2025, Indian Railways expects to meet a third of its electricity demand from renewable energy sources by building 1.1GW from rooftop projects and 3.9GW worth of large-scale trackside solar farms.

(Source: The Guardian)

India trains delayed due to 'drunk' station master

Several trains were delayed in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh after the station master got drunk and fell asleep while on duty, officials said.

Deep Singh did not respond to repeated calls from officials, causing them to rush to the Murshadpur train station.

According to local media, Mr Singh was found sleeping in his office with empty liquor bottles under his cot.

Authorities said an inquiry had been ordered into the incident.

India runs 11,000 trains every day, of which 7,000 are passenger trains

They added that a medical examination showed a high level of alcohol in his blood.

"He was dead drunk and could barely walk," a senior railway official is quoted as saying in The Hindu newspaper. He added that it was "a very serious matter" which would be further investigated.

According to sources at the station, many long-distance trains had to stop and wait since there was no green signal at the station.

A large number of trains pass through the station every day. Across the country, more than 22 million Indians commute daily on about 9,000 trains.

Such unusual incidents are not uncommon in India. Employees were suspended in the state of Orissa after 22 carriages detached from a train and sped backwards for 11km (seven miles) in April.

Last November, a group of Indian farmers woke up to find that the train they were travelling on had sped 160km in the "wrong direction".

(Source: BBC)

Get ready to pay six-time penalty for carrying excess luggage on trains

Just like air travel, now beware of carrying excess luggage while travelling in trains as well.

As a result of numerous complaints regarding excess baggage being towed into train compartments, the Indian Railways has decided to strictly enforce its over-three-decades-old baggage allowance rules, which will see passengers paying up to six times the stipulated amount as penalty, if caught travelling with overweight luggage, an official said today.

According to the prescribed norms, a sleeper class and a second class passenger can carry luggage weighing 40 kg and 35 kg respectively without paying any extra money and a maximum of 80 kg and 70 kg respectively by paying for the excess luggage at the parcel office. The excess luggage would have to be put in the luggage van.

"The rules were already in place, we are just enforcing them strictly now. Passengers are allowed to book and carry excess luggage in the luggage van, up to the maximum limit, on the payment of a fee equivalent to one-and-a-half times the luggage rate.

"If a passenger is found travelling with un-booked luggage weighing more than the free allowance, the excess weight will be charged six times the luggage rate. The move is to ensure passenger convenience and address the issue of cramped compartments," Ved Prakash, Director, Information and Publicity, Railway Board, said.

Officials said unlike at the airports, where the luggage of each passenger is weighed, the railways will carry out random checks among the passengers.

For example, if a passenger is travelling 500 km with luggage weighing 80 kg in the sleeper class, he can book his excess baggage of 40 kg for Rs 109 in the luggage van.

However, if he fails to do so and is caught with the excess luggage, he will end up paying a penalty of Rs 654.

Similarly, an AC first class passenger can carry 70 kg of luggage for free and a maximum of 150 kg, after paying a fee for the excess 80 kg.

An AC two-tier passenger can carry 50 kg of luggage for free and a maximum of 100 kg by paying a fee for the excess 50 kg.

The railways will also ensure that trunks, suitcases and boxes adhere to the prescribed measurements of 100cm x 60cm x 25cm (length, breadth, height) for personal luggage to be carried in the compartments.

If the trunks, suitcases and boxes exceed any one of the dimensions, those would have to be booked and carried in the luggage van, Prakash said.

The national transporter has launched a special drive (June 1-6) across all its zones to enforce the rules.

(Source: India Today)

If one dies getting on or off train, Railways must pay compensation: Indian Supreme Court

The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the railways would be liable to pay compensation to passengers in case of death or injury while boarding and de-boarding trains and said it cannot deny such claims citing negligence on the part of passengers.

A bench of Justices A K Goel and R F Nariman held that death or injury during boarding or de-boarding a train will be an 'untoward incident' entitling the victim to compensation.

As per Section 124A of the Railways Act, 1989, no compensation shall be payable by the railway administration if the passenger dies or suffers injury due to suicide or attempted suicide by him, self-inflicted injury, his own criminal act or any act committed by him in a state of intoxication or insanity.

Different high courts have given contradictory verdicts as some of them held that injury or death during boarding and de-boarding because of negligence of the victim was at par with self-inflicted injury. Some HCs though applied the principles of strict liability on the railways for such incidents.

Putting an end to the controversy, the apex court ruled that the railways is liable to pay compensation to victims as compensation is payable whether or not there has been wrongful act, neglect or fault on the part of the railway administration in case of an accident or untoward incident.

The court said the concept of 'self-inflicted injury' would require intention to inflict such injury and negligence on the part of passenger, which is one of the grounds to decline compensation, could not be brought within its ambit.

(Source: ToI)

India splutters in anger after toilet water used for train tea

An Indian tea vendor caught on video taking water from a train toilet before selling his drinks to passengers has been fined amid heightened concern in India over food safety.

The vendor on the Chennai-Hyderabad Express was caught after footage of him and two others coming out of a toilet with large cans used to serve tea and coffee on Indian trains was widely shared.

Indian Railways said in a statement that the ‘incident has been inquired into in detail’ and that the tea seller had been fined the equivalent of $1,500.

The video was made on a train at Secunderabad in Telangana state. Out of the three vendors seen only one was licensed.

Screenshots from video that shows two railway tea vendors filling their cans with toilet

The vendor claimed the group were transferring milk from one can to another and did not want to do it in the open.

‘The very fact that tea/coffee cans were seen being brought out of the toilet, is in itself a wrong practice,’ the railway company said.

A series of recent incidents have put the spotlight on food safety in India.

In the eastern city of Kolkata, famed for its Bengal delicacies, police this week unearthed a racket in which tonnes of rotten meat from dumps was being sold to restaurants.

Sales of meat and poultry in the city have plummeted since authorities seized about 20 tonnes of rotten meat. Police suspect a lot more had been sent out to city restaurants.

‘The meat was sourced from dump yards where vultures, dogs fight over carcasses in the fringes of the city,’ Koteshwar Rao, a senior West Bengal police officer told AFP.

Eight people have been arrested so far. But Kolkata restaurants and cafes have been left reeling from the scandal.

‘The rumours have resulted in a 50 percent fall in demand (for meat) across restaurants and eateries,’ Taher Ali, a member of the Meat Merchants Association told AFP.

The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Eastern India has told its members to only purchase meat from registered suppliers.

According to government figures, food poisoning is one of the most common disease outbreaks in India, accounting for 242 of 1,469 reported serious outbreaks last year.

(Source: Gulf Times)

This is why you aren't able to reserve a Tatkal berth on IRCTC website

If you have to run after a travel agent each time you are unable to book a berth under the Tatkal scheme, then perhaps you have been conned by this CBI official.

Have you tried booking a ticket on Tatkal rail quota through the IRCTC website? Have you ever successfully secured a confirmed berth? The answer is mostly no. Ever wondered why?

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has an answer now as to why a passenger booking through his account hardly gets a ticket confirmed under Tatkal but an agent always does.

Assistant Programmer of CBI Ajay Garg, who joined the organisation in 2012, has been arrested by the agency for developing an illicit software named Neo which allowed him to book 800-1,000 tickets at one go.

The arrest has once again exposed the scam that had plagued the India Railways booking system due to which a passenger hardly ever is able to confirm tickets under Tatkal.

Garg and his agents were running this racket for the past one year and were looting public money.

MODUS OPERANDI EXPLAINED

• Passengers looking to book Tatkal tickets would reach out to travel agents after their failed attempt to secure a berth.
• Accordingly, they would pay the premium to the agent.
• The travel agents would then approach Garg and his men to further book the required number of berths through the fake website.
• These travel agents would charge anything between Rs 50 and Rs 5,000 as commission from the passengers for a confirmed ticket.  
• Having worked with the IRCTC as a developer from 2007-2011, Garg had full knowledge of the functioning of the website along with the loopholes and vulnerabilities in the software. This helped him loot the Railways and the common man alike.

CASE REGISTERED

A case has been registered against Garg and others on allegations of criminal conspiracy, offences related to unauthorised access and damage to compute/computer system and running unauthorised business of procuring and supplying railway tickets, and criminal misconduct.

Garg also distributed this software to railway ticket booking agents and travel operators for a hefty sum, said a CBI official in a statement.

Investigations further revealed that Garg and his men amassed huge wealth from this and also received money from dealers through bitcoins and hawala networks.

According to the CBI, "Raids in 14 places including Delhi, Mumbai and Jaunpur have led to the recovery of almost Rs 89.42 lakh in cash, gold jewellery estimated at Rs 61.29 lakh including two gold bars weighing 1kg each, 15 laptops among other equipment."

The accused were today produced before the court and have been sent to police custody till January 5.

On the arrests made, CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal said, "The case is in line with CBI directors' policy of having a robust internal mechanism of ensuring probity and having zero tolerance towards corruption."

(Source: India Today)

Tokyo railway ‘deeply sorry’ after train leaves 20 seconds early

A railway operator has issued a sincere apology for the “tremendous nuisance” caused by a train departing 20 seconds early, surprising even a nation renowned for both punctuality and politeness.

Metropolitan Intercity Railway Co. said the Tsukuba Express train linking Tokyo and its northern suburbs pulled out of Minami-Nagareyama Station at 9:44:20 instead of 9:44:40.

“We deeply apologize for causing a tremendous nuisance to customers,” the company said.

“There was no complaint from customers over this incident,” the firm said, adding that no one missed the train due to the premature departure.

Japanese railway services, including bullet trains, are famous for their world-beating punctuality.

Even the slightest delay prompts an effusive apology from train or station personnel, which often lasts longer than the holdup itself.

With trains running the same route every few minutes to cope with huge numbers of passengers, even brief delays can back up the whole network and lead to overcrowding.

Stations in Tokyo employ dozens of staff — with their famous white gloves — to ensure the prompt departure of trains and to manage the crush during rush hour.

Shinkansen are also famed for their customer service, and one train even offers passengers an onboard foot bath to soothe their weary feet.

Metropolitan Intercity Railway said it was “surprised” by the attention the story was getting, saying: “We have issued similar apologies for trains that departed earlier than scheduled before.”

A spokesman said the apology was issued because strict safety procedures were not followed.

“What matters is not the 20 seconds. . . . The point is that our formal procedure should be this: A sound rings 15 seconds before the departure, followed by an announcement asking for caution due to the closing doors, and then the doors shut,” he said.

Lax management could cause safety problems in the future, the spokesman said. “There are sometimes passengers who try to jump on the train . . . they could be caught in doors” if the doors shut without warning, he said.

A Tokyo Metro Co. employee monitors the platform at a subway station. | BLOOMBERG

But the apology had several social media users scratching their heads.

“This is surprising even to Japanese,” said one user with the handle @takamin_.

“A weird country in which a 20-second difference prompts a sincere apology while faking quality data on aluminium and steel products or misconduct on car checkups are done just like that,” another tweet read.

This was a reference to the recent string of corporate scandals that has floored the reputation of Japan Inc.

Car giants Nissan Motor Co. and Subaru Corp. have admitted that uncertified staff had inspected vehicles while Kobe Steel Ltd. has been embroiled in a quality data-faking scandal.

However, @cindy176 just commented: “Everyone should be more relaxed.”

(Source: JT)

A bit of history to munch on as Maddur vada turns 100

I come from this little place and I'm proud of this. I cook this snack when I feel nostalgic and my hubby absolutely loves it. But nothing can beat the taste of what my mom cooks. The ingredients are same, but it depends on who prepares it. Maddur vada turned 100 years and the Bangalore Mirror paid tribute to this yummy snack by publishing an article on it:

In April 1917, Ramachandra Budhya, who ran a Vegetarian Refreshment Room (VRR) at Maddur railway station, was at his wit’s end as the next train was about to arrive in a few minutes and he didn’t have enough time to prepare the pakodas that he usually served to the passengers.

He calculated the time it would take the train to arrive at the station, slapped all the ingredients at his disposal into a thin patty and fried it. Thus the Maddur vada, which has been the preferred snack of railway passengers across Karnataka and other states, was invented.

Budhya, hailing from Kundapura, had moved to Maddur a few years back and had been given permission to run the VRR at the station. He was selling idli vadas to the hundreds of passengers of the many trains running between Mysuru and Bengaluru. On that summer day, he introduced the new snack to commuters and the rest, as they say, is history.

Recalling the incident, Jayaprakash, owner of Maddur Tiffany’s, says, “Ramachandra Budhya got a little creative as the train was just a few minutes from arriving in the station. He took all the ingredients and prepared the vada in a few minutes.”

Soon, the Maddur vada became the preferred snack of railway commuters, and a common sight on the train railway journey from Mysuru to Bengaluru.

It came to be associated with the Mysuru kingdom, and Ramachandra Budhya’s descendants furthered its marketing due to the demand created for the snack in a section of the public.

Budhya ran the VRR at the station from 1917 to 1937, and his kin ran the place till 1948.

Since 1948, the snack has been made famous by the family of HD Hebbar, whose descendants are now looking after the famous Maddur Tiffanys on the Mysore-Bangalore National Highway in Maddur.

Nagaraj, the elder brother of Jayaprakash, recalls, “HD Hebbar was the man who improved the quality of Maddur vada, which is now preferred by thousands of train commuters. HD Hebbar operated the VRR in Maddur railway station till 1973, which was later given to his son D Gopalaiah.”

It was Gopalaiah who took the snack to the next level by making it available outside the railway station too.

This demand culminated in Jayaprakash, son of D Gopalaiah, starting Maddur Tiffanys in 1987.

This attracted thousands of people to the canteen to have the crispy vada.

Jayaprakash said the popularity of the snack was such that one of the members of the Mysuru royal family, Shrikantadatta Chamarajendra Wadiyar, visited the canteen during his father D Gopalaiah’s time.

He also recalled transporting the snacks to the royal palace in silver vessels.

With the passage of time, the snack was introduced in other parts of the country and is available in shops and not just trains and stations.

The snack has also become a source of livelihood for those who were once preparing the vadas in Maddur Tiffany’s.

We didn’t wish to have the patent Jayaprakash said that despite the opportunity, they didn’t want to hold the patent for the vada.

“The snack has been named after this town and it is not fair to have the patent on it. Also, it has given livelihood to so many. So we do not think the snack is limited to our family. But it belongs to entire Maddur,” he says.

Explaining the taste and heritage of the snack, Chathura, a grandson of D Gopalaiah, says, “We use onion, rava, maida, rice floor and other ingredients in the required amount so that the taste of the snack remains delicious. Importantly, we buy onions only from Pune which are of the best quality. But we manage to use it in sufficient amount only because we have certain demands.”

Over time, the snack was offered by many including unauthorised vendors in trains which affected the business of VRR at Maddur station.

Eventually, the Maddur Tiffany’s had to close the VRR at the station as few trains were stopping at the station.

On January 28, as the tender was closed, Maddur Tiffany’s decided that it was the last time they would run the shop.

“We will concentrate only on the hotel now,” Chathura added.

The station master from Maddur railway station, Maniyaiah, said, “Maddur vada is not only a commercial aspect in this station, but also a heritage of the station. There are many unauthorised vendors who sell vadas here. We penalised them, but they do not stop their business. Such is the influence of the snack between these two cities.”

Ministry of Railways tweet entire menu after receiving complaints from passengers

IRCTC is the fourth largest railway network in the world but when it comes to quality of services provided by the corporation, many travelers aren't impressed by it.

Every now and then, passengers were seen posting their complaints on social media platforms regarding the quality of food being served in the railways along with being overcharged as one of the major issues.

To solve the matter for many, Ministry of Railways recently took to Twitter and posted their entire menu with updated rates so that passengers can't be fooled anymore. The ministry of railways also encouraged passengers to lodge complaints in case they feel they are being overcharged.

The railways is trying to get hoteliers onboard so that they can build base kitchens at major stations to improve the quality of the food served in the trains. Railway minister, Suresh Prabhu also reviewed the catering policies recently and also promoted e-catering services to give passengers more options to choose from.

Here's a detailed menu which was released by the Ministry of Railways earlier this year:

(Source: India Today)

Shakuntala Railways: The one train line in India still owned by the British

The train which travels a distance of 190 kms in about four hours is the lifeline for the people of Yavatmal and Achalpur (Amravati district) of Maharashtra. But Shakuntala Railways is still owned by the British and India pays money to run it, reveals India Today:

Do you know that there is still a small hold of British Raj in the Indian Railways? All of the Indian Railways got nationalised in the year 1951 except the narrow gauge line of Shakuntala Railways.

The railway, which is named after the queen of Vidarbha, still runs on a narrow guage railway network.

Highlights

• Central Province Railway opened this narrow gauge line, Shakuntala Railway, in 1910, which is owned by a British firm Killick-Nixon
• The company built this line mainly for the shipment of cotton from Yavatmal to Mumbai 
• Earlier, it was run by a ZD-steam engine marked 'made in Liverpool' which was put in service in 1923. Presently, this passenger train is run by a diesel engine
• The railway network named after the queen of Vidarbha, the eastern part of Maharashtra that comprises of Nagpur division and Amravati division 
• This narrow guage line originates from Mumbai-Nagpur-Calcutta broad gauge line (Murtizapur junction, Kolkata)
• The British company still charges more than a crore per year from Indian Railways for running a train on these tracks
• The train travels 190 km in about four hours. It is the cheapest mode of transport for the people of Amravati district which costs around Rs 25 for a single trip
• The journey gives you the pleasure of beautiful scenic beauty of country side as the train passes through beautiful hills and plateaus 
• The train is the lifeline for the people of Yavatmal and Achalpur (Amravati district) of Maharashtra

Man finds out how Indian Railways staff overcharge for your meals

Many of us have travelled in trains and have ordered food. But have we ever thought that we are paying almost double the money for the food than it actually costs? India Today has published a retired IAS officer's account on how meals in our trains are overpriced by almost 100 per cent. A vegetarian meal that costs Rs 50 is sold for Rs 90 and the non-vegetarian meal is sold at Rs 100 when it originally costs Rs 55. Read it:

Indian Railways is one of the world's largest railway networks with more than 12,000 trains running across the nation everyday.

Scamming with whatever ways we can, is nothing new. According to a Facebook post, a man put out an account of a retired IAS officer who was travelling from Visakhapatnam to Howrah in Yesvantpur-Howrah Express.

According to the post, a vegetarian meal was sold to the retired IAS officer Shivendra K Sinha by a waiter at Rs 90. Sensing something wrong, Sinha figured out that he was buying his meal for a price more than what IRCTC is selling at.

The rate card confirmed that the vegetarian meal costs Rs 30 (excluding taxes) and non-vegetarian meal is priced at Rs 35 (excluding taxes).

It became a scam when the pantry car officials asked for a price much higher than what IRCTC has decided. The veg meal that was supposed to be sold at Rs 50 was sold at Rs 90 and the non-veg meal that was supposed to cost Rs 55 was sold at Rs 100.

Regardless of what the waiter charged Sinha, he paid the official price but waiter demanded for the price the pantry car officials unofficially fixed.

Sinha asked for the rate card which the waiter failed to provide. After the discrepancy was highlighted, the waiter agreed upon taking Rs 50 instead of Rs 90 further telling Sinha to not tell anybody about this.

A furious Sinha then did not sit this one out and rushed towards the pantry car to have a word with pantry in-charge.

He filed a complaint with the in-charge and in return, he was to get a copy of the complaint. He filed the complaint saying that he was charged more for his meal but to his surprise, the in-charge wrote, "taken only Rs 50 from customer Bill No XXX and this customer writes complaint every time he travels."

Here's the full post he posted on Facebook:

INDIAN RAILWAY CATERING SCAM IN PANTRY CARS

Shivendra K. Sinha IAS Ret'd

Last week i was travelling from Visakhapatnam to Howrah in Yesvantpur-Howrah Express. Ordered Veg. meal from the pantry car, as per waiter it was Rs.90/- only.

I have always in mind that these people are charging very high for the meals but never took it seriously. But this time i determined to enquire about it.

Googled about the rate card and menu, found this website,

IRCTC Help: IRCTC Latest Food Menu Rates

I was shocked when I saw the rates -

Veg meals which pantry car person was selling at Rs 90 was priced only Rs 50/-

Non-Veg meals pantry car rate was priced Rs 100 is only Rs 55/-

Two more options are also available as Standard Thali Meals- Veg and Non-Veg atRs 35 and Rs 40.
After meals , i handed over Rs 50 to the waiter, but he was demanding 90.

I asked him about the RATE CARD, he refused to have any such thing.

Shown him the above website and rates, he was like Rs. 50 will be ok but DON’T TELL ANYONE.

I was so furious, travelled all the way from 13th coach to 1st coach to the pantry car.

And on my way, informed co-passengers who were taking the meals from pantry about this scam.

Met the Pantry-In-charge. Enquired about this. he was also telling the same story, rate cards are missing right now but will shortly get the new one.

About the Jacked price of meal he was mum. Lodge a complaint in his Complaint register , which he handed over to me after half an hour.

Initially he was pleading not to write the complaint but after writing the complaint, he was like nobody will see this , it will go into dustbin that’s it.

To my surprise, against my complaint (he is obliged to give reason in writing - triplet complaint copies - one has to handed over to customer) he wrote “taken only Rs 50 from customer Bill No XXX and this customer writes complaint every time he travels. “

The same situation is in almost every train, pantry car meals price are jacked up as no one question them, no one ask about the rate card.

As per one of the estimate, every day around 25 million passenger travel from Indian Railways , if only 0.5% of these passengers takes either lunch or dinner from pantry cars , even extra rupees 30 on each plate will make these people rich by Rs 37,500,000.

Calculate for yourself for 100% passengers complaining.

Or just multiply Rs 37,500,000 by 200 and again by 365...

ENORMOUS!

Please do insist for Bill every time you ordered any food from a Railway pantry car.

Please do try to forward this to all, as so many depend on Rail travel & can't afford Air travel.