Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a Navratna PSU under the Ministry of Railways, has been undertaking sustained and proactive measures to strengthen the quality, safety and hygiene of catering services provided to railway passengers. IRCTC has intensified its efforts to check the sale and service of unapproved food and beverage items and ensure compliance with prescribed food safety standards.

As part of the latest inspection drive, Quick Response Teams (QRTs) have been formed to conduct inspection with commercial department of railway across trains and railway stations. The teams are particularly focusing on the sale and stocking of unapproved Packaged Drinking Water (PDW), unapproved food and beverage products and other items not conforming to the prescribed standards. During the inspections, catering units are being extensively checked for compliance of licensing, authorisations, and hygiene and food safety requirements.

Details of the some recent inspections by the QRT teams are as under: -

North Zone –

A. Lucknow Region

Date: - 28.07.2026 to 08.08.2026

IRCTC officials, along with Lucknow Commercial Department conducted an extensive inspection drive at Lucknow region stations from 28.07.2026 to 08.08.2026 to check the sale and storage of unapproved brands of Packaged Drinking Water.

During the drive, 117 trains were inspected and 5,241 bottles of unapproved brands of Packaged Drinking Water were seized.

B. Chandigarh Region

Date: - 10.08.2026

IRCTC Regional Office Chandigarh conducted regular inspections of trains at various stations including Ambala, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Katra and Jammu in the past week. During the drive, a total of 51 trains were inspected and 3108 bottles of unapproved packaged drinking water were seized.

Quick Response Teams have also been formed to conduct surprise inspections of catering units across Regional Office Chandigarh, which are headed by Chief Regional Manager, IRCTC Chandigarh and Joint General Manager IRCTC Chandigarh. In two surprise inspections conducted on 10/08/2026, 13 cartons of unapproved products, which included ice cream and flavoured milk were seized at Ambala by the QRT headed by CRM, Chandigarh.

A similar inspection drive was also conducted at Saharanpur Railway Station, wherein unapproved ice creams, beverages, and packaged drinking water were seized.

West Zone –

A. Sabarmati BG

Date:- 09.08.2026

During a surprise inspection of Train Side Vending (TSV) operations of Train Nos. 19223 and 19031 at Sabarmati BG Railway Station, the IRCTC team detected the loading of unauthorised “Packaged Drinking Water” and “Buttermilk” onto the trains. The unauthorised items were seized for further necessary action.

East Zone –

A. Howrah

Date: - 08.08.2026

During surprise inspection conducted by the Quick Response Team along with Commercial Department at Howrah, unauthorised food and beverage items were seized and disposed off.

B. Guwahati

Date: - 08.08.2026-14.08.2026

IRCTC QRT teams conducted regular pre-board, surprise and onboard inspections across Guwahati, Kamakhya, Agartala, Katihar, New Jalpaiguri and Dibrugarh, covering trains and static catering units, with particular focus on unauthorised Packaged Drinking Water (PDW), catering violations, overcharging, staff documentation, hygiene, pest control, equipment and passenger service standards. During the drive, unapproved PDW/PAD and food items were seized and disposed of at multiple locations.

IRCTC time and again advises all catering service providers to strictly instruct their staff not to load, stock or sell any unauthorised food and beverage items and to ensure complete compliance with the prescribed catering standards. Any violation to attract strict penal action as per the applicable licence terms and conditions.

The QRT teams have been activated in all zones and regions of IRCTC to check sale of unapproved food & beverage items. IRCTC will continue to undertake such intensive inspection drives in coordination with the concerned commercial department of railways with the clear objective to ensure strict compliance with prescribed food safety standards and to ensure service of safe, hygienic and quality food and beverage services to the valued passengers.

SM/JD

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