PAC drags railways over gaps in passenger amenities despite promises

The findings were discussed at a meeting of the PAC, led by senior Congress leader KC Venugopal, which examined the CAG report on passenger amenities and sanitation at stations. File | Photo credit: The Hindu

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday (September 17, 2026) expressed concern over the persistent deficiencies in amenities and passenger hygiene at railway stations, with a recent audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) finding that bio-toilets, touted as a game-changing facility by the Indian Railways, were found inadequate or non-functional at stations 51291 and 5191.

The findings were discussed at a meeting of the PAC, led by senior Congress leader KC Venugopal, which examined CAG Report No. 31 of 2026 on passenger amenities and sanitation at stations.

Sources said Mr. Venugopal acknowledged the scale and complexity of running Indian Railways, but said it should not hamper basic services to citizens. He noted that since 2007, four PAC reports had been submitted on the issue, highlighting key deficiencies, but the railway had ignored these findings. He added that the Railway Ministry continued to submit action-taken reports without making any significant improvements on the spot.

Sources said the PAC chairman directed the ministry to review the committee’s observations made since its 2007 report and submit a response within a month with detailed measures to address the shortcomings.

“The meeting was one of the most important issues concerning common passengers, railway passengers in this country. There are serious irregularities in the basic amenities provided to passengers, including drinking water, seating arrangements, fans, platform covers… The audit has pointed out serious misconduct on the part of the railways, which we are looking into… We will call another meeting with the railway officials after a month and discuss it,” Mr. Venugopal said.

The latest audit found that while the ministry had informed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways in 2020-21 that it had introduced bio-toilets, water dispensers and Wi-Fi facilities, several shortcomings persisted. Audit teams found deficiencies in water dispensers at 29 out of 77 stations and Wi-Fi devices at 65 out of 380 stations.

The report is the fourth audit on the subject in nearly two decades, following cleanliness and hygiene performance audits in 2007 and 2013 and a compliance audit of passenger amenities and station modernization in 2016. The CAG found that “nearly a decade later, deficiencies in various minimum essential facilities across zones persist, despite repeated assurances”.

The audit revealed deficiencies in drinking water facilities. The ministry, in its audit report received in 2016, said adequate drinking water taps were provided at convenient locations for passengers in general and second class categories at all stations. However, an audit in 2024–25 found that there were insufficient taps available at 188 stations; of which, at 134 stations there were fewer taps than the prescribed standards and at four stations they were completely absent.

Similarly, the ministry informed the PAC in its 2016 report that all stations will be equipped with high-level platforms irrespective of category. However, the latest audit found that 172 of the 291 inspected platforms at 97 stations were not of a high standard. In total, 1,558 platforms across the network remained at rail level.

The report also pointed to non-compliance with the PAC recommendations made in the 2009-2010 Cleanliness and Sanitation Report. At that time, the committee recommended the railways to publicize the availability of complaint and suggestion registers through public address systems and awareness campaigns. Sixteen years later, an audit found that 130 stations displayed no information about complaints registers, while 22% of passengers surveyed did not know such a register existed. The CAG recorded this as a non-compliance despite the committee’s earlier advice.

Published – 17 Sep 2026 21:49 IST