Passengers report poor cooling in AC coach, officials find illicit liquor hidden in duct

The incident has reignited concerns over security lapses and misuse of railway infrastructure. (Image credit: @Benarasiyaa/X)

Passengers aboard the Lucknow-Barauni Express were in for a surprise recently after complaints of low cooling in the AC coach led railway technicians to discover four packages of illicit liquor hidden inside the air duct.

A video from the coach shows a technician pulling out one package after another from the duct, as a passenger joked, “Someone must have kept them there to chill the drinks.”

While the Railways appear to have initiated action after the incident came to light, social media users wondered if the consignment was hidden by passengers or whether the alcohol was being smuggled by railway officials or anti-social elements who had access to the coach at the train yard.

Passengers complained of low cooling in the AC coach of Lucknow-Barauni Express. When the technicians inspected the AC duct, consignment of a illicit liquor was being hidden there.

Tecnologia! pic.twitter.com/Qad9Uis9dO

— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) August 14, 2025

“Common passengers will not do such a thing. It can't be loaded when the train is in the station. It would have been loaded at the yard. So railway officials are responsible for smuggling,” wrote user Hari Kumar NG on X.

Another user, Akshay Khandelwal (@chinagoback), questioned the role of railway staff at the car shed: “This implies someone (at least one, probably more) at the car-shed who knows the timing of this car, is involved in this. Will the Railway Ministry investigate and find the culprits?”

The incident has reignited concerns over security lapses and misuse of railway infrastructure. Railway officials are yet to comment on the incident.