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    Passengers flag ‘poor’ food quality on Vande Bharat Sleeper’s first commercial runs: 'Fooling public'

    The sleeper variant of the Vande Bharat series received considerable public interest, with tickets reportedly selling out shortly after reservations opened. However, attention has since shifted to passenger accounts circulating on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, where multiple users have alleged inconsistencies in onboard catering.

    Curated by : Shubhi Mishra
    January 24, 2026 / 09:37 IST
    Neither Indian Railways nor IRCTC has issued a public response to the passenger complaints circulating online at the time of writing.

    India’s first Vande Bharat Sleeper train, operating on the Kamakhya–Howrah route, has come under online scrutiny days after its launch, with several passengers raising concerns over the quality and quantity of food served onboard during its early commercial runs.

    The Kamakhya–Howrah Vande Bharat Sleeper Express was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 17. Designed specifically for overnight journeys, the service connects Kamakhya in Assam with Howrah in West Bengal. The train comprises 16 coaches and offers accommodation across three classes — Third AC, Second AC and First AC.

    The sleeper variant of the Vande Bharat series received considerable public interest, with tickets reportedly selling out shortly after reservations opened. However, attention has since shifted to passenger accounts circulating on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, where multiple users have alleged inconsistencies in onboard catering.

    One X user shared two photographs of dinner served on the train, contrasting what was provided during the inaugural journey with meals offered on a subsequent regular service. The first image showed a full spread including rice, dal, paneer-based dishes, rotis and a dessert. The second image, described by the user as being from a routine run, appeared to show fewer items and visibly reduced portions. The post was captioned, “Dinner of India’s 1st Sleeper Vande Bharat.”

    Another passenger, who said he travelled in the Third AC coach from Kamakhya to Howrah, described his experience as “very unpleasant” in a detailed post on X.

    “The food was horrible… there was no dal (they said all the dal was spilled once the train started moving). The rice was overcooked, and there was no paneer. The sabjis were undercooked and had no masala. The roti was hard, only the dahi and the red sweet were good. Moreover, the quantity was not enough at all,” the passenger wrote.

    The same individual alleged confusion among onboard staff and claimed that disputes broke out between passengers and train management over meal distribution. According to the post, some travellers did not receive food at all.

    Sharing a screenshot of the complaint, another X account commented: “Passengers report poor food quality, insufficient quantity, no dal/paneer, hard rotis, and overcooked rice. Staff confusion, food not served to some, bedsheets running out, and chaos onboard. Premium branding means nothing without basic service delivery.”

    Additional users echoed similar concerns, with some describing the issue as “bad catering” on the train’s initial commercial operations. One post alleged that the base kitchen operated by IRCTC in Guwahati was responsible for the meals served on train number 27576, which runs from Kamakhya to Howrah.

    “Many passengers are complaining about extremely low quality food served by base kitchen of IRCTC, GHY in 27576 KYQ HWH on first commercial run,” the user wrote, adding that only dinner was provided onboard, while services such as morning or evening tea were reportedly not offered.

    The criticism contrasts with earlier publicity around the train’s food offerings. According to NDTV, the catering menu for the Vande Bharat Sleeper was developed by Mayfair Spring Valley Resort in Guwahati in partnership with IRCTC. The menu was designed to reflect regional cuisine, seasonal produce and vegetarian preferences.

    See some more reactions here:

    Reportedly planned dishes include Bengali specialities such as basanti pulao, cholar dal, moong dal, and preparations made from chana and lentils, along with joha rice, mati mohor, masoor dal and seasonal vegetable bhajis. Traditional sweets such as sandesh, narikol burfi and rasgulla were also listed as part of the onboard offerings.

    An X user named Kunal Dhar also shared his point of view while travelling aboard the sleeper train and claimed that the staff only served "miserable" vegetarian food didn't provide evening tea. In the videos he shares, passengers can be seen lining up outside coaches to protest to the train staff.

    Neither Indian Railways nor IRCTC has issued a public response to the passenger complaints circulating online at the time of writing.

    first published: Jan 24, 2026 09:25 am

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