Food safety and hygiene at railway stations in Mumbai have come under renewed scrutiny after 45 catering outlets across Western Railway (WR) and Central Railway (CR) faced action during a 10-day inspection drive.
The inspections, conducted between August 15 and August 24, covered 106 food and catering outlets. Western Railway's Mumbai Central Division took action against 39 outlets, while Central Railway's Mumbai Division acted against six stalls.
The enforcement measures included temporary closures, financial penalties and mandatory inspections before affected outlets could resume operations.
Western Railway accounted for the bulk of the action, with 39 food, tea and juice stalls closed during inspections.
Of these, 20 outlets have since reopened after operators addressed the violations, paid the required penalties and cleared compliance inspections. The remaining 19 outlets continue to remain shut until corrective measures are completed and verified.
WR has recovered ₹3.80 lakh in penalties from the affected vendors.
The highest fine, ₹1 lakh, was imposed on a tea stall operated by M/s Mahendra Jain at Bandra Terminus on Platforms 2 and 3. The stall was permitted to reopen after passing a compliance check on August 20.
A juice kiosk operated by Om Prakash Chandra Sen at Bandra station on Platforms 4 and 5 was fined ₹50,000. It resumed operations after verification on August 24.
The 19 outlets still under suspension are spread across several stations in Gujarat and Mumbai.
They include:
The affected operators must rectify the deficiencies, pay applicable penalties and undergo formal compliance checks before they can reopen.
Central Railway's Mumbai Division inspected 53 catering stalls during the same period and found violations at six outlets.
Three food stalls were ordered to remain closed for 10 days, while CR recovered ₹12,000 in fines.
The inspections focused on food handling, cleanliness, sanitation and compliance with prescribed railway catering standards.
The catering crackdown comes amid concerns over hygiene at railway stations and allegations circulating on social media about the quality of Rail Neer, the packaged drinking water supplied by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).
IRCTC has maintained that Rail Neer is produced under stringent quality-control procedures and complies with IS 14543:2024, along with applicable Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) requirements.
The corporation said microbiologists monitor the bottling process and that chemical and microbiological tests are carried out as prescribed.
Railway authorities have also intensified checks on water facilities at stations. Teams are inspecting water coolers, water-vending machines, pyaus and UV and RO purification systems.
The checks include examining storage tanks for rust and leakage, ensuring lids and gaskets are properly fitted, inspecting pipelines and taps, and verifying that purification-system filters are replaced according to schedule.
Officials are also testing the quality of water supplied to passengers using prescribed testing equipment. Damaged or unhygienic water coolers are to be repaired or replaced where necessary.
Railway officials have indicated that inspections will continue to ensure that food outlets and drinking-water facilities meet prescribed safety and hygiene standards.
For suspended catering operators, reopening is not automatic. They must first correct the identified deficiencies, pay applicable penalties and pass a formal compliance inspection.
The intensified checks underline the railways' focus on food safety, sanitation, drinking-water quality and passenger safety as authorities increase monitoring of catering facilities across Mumbai's railway network.
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