Railway asks zones to firm up grievance redressal mechanism as cleanliness complaints rise by 50%

New Delhi, Jan 7 (PTI) Complaints lodged by passengers on the Rail Madad app about the cleanliness of coaches and the bed rolls rose by about 50 per cent in October and November of 2025 as against September, while 'excellent' and 'Satisfactory' feedback declined marginally during the same period. Expressing concern over the decline in positive feedback against complaints raised, the Railway Ministry has asked all zones to identify the reasons and take suitable measures to improve the grievance redressal mechanism.

"During the monthly review of Rail Madad grievances, a comparative analysis of bedroll and coach cleanliness-related complaints under train cause-wise feedback for October and November 2025, in comparison with September 2025, has revealed a decline in overall feedback percentages and a reduction in overall 'excellent' and 'satisfactory' feedback ratios," the ministry said in a January 6 letter to all zones.

The letter to all zonal principal chief mechanical engineers responsible for housekeeping services said, "Zonal Railways are requested to analyse the reason for the reduction in feedback ratio and 'excellent' and 'satisfactory' ratio, and suitable measures may be taken to improve grievance redressal." The ministry's letter presented data from September, October and November 2025, showing that 8,758 complaints were received for bedrolls in September, which increased to 13,406 and 13,196 in October and November, respectively.

It was around a 50 per cent rise in complaints in October and November compared to September. The feedback received from passengers against these complaints stood at 3,628 in September, 4,766 in October, and 4,582 in November.

Although the number of feedback increased in October and November, the ratio of complaints raised to feedback received showed that feedback percentages were marginally lower in the months following September.

An analysis of 'excellent' and 'satisfactory' feedback as a proportion of total feedback showed a decline of 1.9 per cent in October and 0.83 per cent in November, compared to September.

Complaints about cleanliness in coaches received in September were 24,758, which rose to 33,804 in October and 36,673 in November.

November saw a 48 per cent rise in such complaints in September. Feedback received from passengers against these complaints stood at 8,987, 10,553 and 10,607 in September, October and November, respectively.

According to the ministry, the variation in 'excellent' and 'satisfactory' feedback was 2.62 per cent lower in October and 1.19 per cent lower in November compared to September.

"The Rail Madad portal had been launched as an integrated digital grievance redressal system facilitating the registration, real-time monitoring, and time-bound resolution of passenger complaints, contributing to improved passenger satisfaction," the ministry said. PTI JP JP NSD NSD