Man Charged Service Fee of Rs 50 for Tea Worth Rs 20, Netizens Criticise IRCTC

Ordering a drink at Indian Railways isn't everyone's cup of tea!

Passenger charged Rs 70 for a cup of tea in Shatabdi express

(Photo Courtesy: Altered by The Quint)

Recently, a passenger travelling from Bhopal Shatabdi ordered a cup of tea, but received a bit of a rude shock instead. He was taxed Rs 70 for a the tea priced Rs 20.

Usually the prices of Indian railways are subsidised so naturally, the passenger was concerned about the steep price of the tea. He took to Twitter and narrated his ordeal, and soon enough it became viral.

Balgovind Verma, an activist, shared the receipts of the tea he bought. Criticizing the government, he wrote in Hindi, "50 rupees tax on 20 rupees tea, so far only history had changed, and now even the economy has changed!"

After Balgovind's tweet went viral, railway officials issued a clarification that the passenger hasn't been charged extra tax, but a service charge levied by IRCTC. According to a notice issued by the Indian Railways in 2018, passengers travelling from trains like Rajdhani or Shatabdi have to pay a service charge of Rs 50 even while ordering a cup of tea, if they haven't prebooked the meals.

Circular by the Indian Railways

Netizens, however, still pointed out that Rs. 70 for a cup of tea was quite expensive.