Food on flights is notoriously costly. However, it is believed that meals served on trains are subsidised. You will be shocked if you share this belief. An image posted on social media by a traveller reveals that he was charged 70 for a cup of tea. The cost of the tea was 20 rupees, but a 50 rupee service fee was also added to the bill.
On June 28, the event happened when a passenger was travelling on a Shatabdi Express train from Delhi to Bhopal.
On Twitter and Reddit, images of the tax bills have gone viral. However, the railways state that if a customer does not pre-order any food when purchasing a ticket for an express train, they will be required to pay a service fee of Rs 50 when buying food while travelling.
20 ????? ?? ??? ?? 50 ????? ?? ?????, ?? ?? ??? ?? ??????????? ??? ???, ??? ?? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ??! pic.twitter.com/ZfPhxilurY
— Balgovind Verma (@balgovind7777) June 29, 2022
Indian Railways issued a circular in 2018, which states, ‘If a passenger who did not opt for catering services at the time of booking the ticket and decides to purchase meals onboard, an extra amount of Rs 50 per meal, in addition to the notified catering charges for meal, shall be charged by IRCTC’s onboard supervisors’.
According to a 2018 Indian Railways circular, a service fee of 50 rupees must be paid anytime a customer orders tea, coffee, or food while travelling on trains like the Rajdhani or Shatabdi without prepaying for a meal. Despite it only being a cup of tea.
In the past, meals were provided aboard trains like the Shatabdi and the Rajdhani. However, the fee has now been divided down, allowing travellers to choose to forgo meals and only pay for transportation.
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