RailMadad Set For Major Revamp As Railways Targets Faster, Smarter Passenger Complaint Handling

New Delhi, September 10, 2026: Indian Railways is planning a series of changes to its RailMadad portal to improve how passenger complaints are categorised, assigned and resolved, with a focus on issues ranging from water and food to housekeeping, linen and repeated grievances.

The proposed changes were discussed during a video conference held by the Railway Board with officials from Zonal Railways and the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) on September 7.

Officials highlighted several problems that can delay complaint resolution or result in grievances being assigned to the wrong railway division or agency.

Water Complaints In Focus

One key concern is the handling of complaints about water on trains. Southern Railway officials pointed out that such complaints are sometimes attributed to the train’s primary depot or the division where watering is carried out instead of the previous watering point.

The Railway Board said CRIS could develop a mechanism to lodge such complaints against the previous watering point. This would make it easier to identify where the problem originated and fix responsibility.

Eastern Railway flagged a related issue. In some cases, divisional control offices change the category of a complaint from “Water Availability” to “Coach Maintenance”. According to the meeting minutes, unnecessary changes can increase the time required to resolve complaints and make it harder to identify the actual deficiency.

Zonal Railways have been asked to monitor the process and ensure complaints remain in the prescribed category unless there is a genuine reason to change it.

Vande Bharat Food Complaints

Food-related complaints on Vande Bharat trains are also under scrutiny. Passengers sometimes lodge complaints about food leftovers in seating areas against Zonal Railways even when the service concerned falls under the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).

Officials said such complaints may not reach or be closed by the appropriate IRCTC officials. CRIS, IRCTC and the Railway Board’s concerned directorate will examine the issue and work on a framework to ensure complaints reach the agency responsible for the service.

The proposed change is significant because a grievance system is only as effective as its ability to identify responsibility quickly. Sending complaints to the correct agency at the outset could reduce unnecessary transfers and help passengers get faster responses.

Housekeeping Accountability

The meeting also examined complaints from passengers travelling on trains without On Board Housekeeping Services (OBHS).

At present, some complaints are assigned to the division that provides immediate assistance to the passenger. This can make that division accountable even when the original deficiency occurred under another division.

CRIS may now examine a system under which a complaint is assigned to the division actually responsible for the deficiency while ensuring that the passenger receives timely assistance.

OTP Feedback May Change

The existing one-time password (OTP) and link-based feedback system also came up for discussion.

Officials said passengers may not always receive the feedback link or may be reluctant to share the OTP after their complaint has been addressed. This can delay the formal closure of grievances.

CRIS may examine alternative ways to collect feedback and consider mechanisms for closing complaints when OTP-based feedback is not received.

A simpler feedback process could make RailMadad more convenient for passengers while preventing resolved grievances from remaining open merely because the final feedback step was not completed.

Linen Staff Details On RailMadad

RailMadad already provides contact details for OBHS staff and the concerned service provider or firm so passengers can seek assistance. Similar information, however, is not currently available for linen distribution staff and departmental employees working as Coach Mitra, Indian Express reports.

The Railway Board has asked CRIS to modify the RailMadad application so relevant staff details can be fetched from the existing CMM portal.

The change could help passengers and railway officials quickly contact the appropriate staff for linen and other coach-related issues while a train is running.

No Early Complaints On Rescheduled Trains

The Railways is also looking at complaints involving rescheduled trains.

Officials pointed out that passengers can sometimes lodge grievances against a rescheduled train even before it has departed from its originating station.

CRIS has been advised to develop a mechanism to prevent such complaints from being registered before the train’s actual departure.

Curbs On Repeated Complaints

Zonal Railways also raised concerns about passengers lodging multiple complaints of a similar nature within a short period from the same device or using the same Passenger Name Record (PNR) number.

CRIS has been advised to develop suitable logic to restrict repeated complaints of a similar nature from the same device or PNR within a short period. The measure will be coordinated with the Railway Board’s concerned passenger grievance directorate.

While such a restriction could prevent duplication and reduce unnecessary workload, its effectiveness will depend on ensuring that genuine unresolved grievances are not inadvertently blocked.

Train And Station Complaints To Be Sorted

Another problem is passengers incorrectly selecting the “Station” category instead of the appropriate “Train” category when registering complaints.

This can send a grievance to station authorities even when the problem concerns a running train. It can also distort complaint statistics for stations and trains.

“CRIS may examine the matter and incorporate a provision enabling authorised users to reclassify incorrectly registered complaints under the appropriate category,” the meeting minutes said.

Allowing authorised users to correct wrongly categorised complaints could improve both response times and the accuracy of RailMadad data.

New Dashboard For Complaint Tracking

The meeting also discussed a new dashboard developed by CRIS to monitor the status of complaints across different areas.

Zonal Railways have been asked to review the dashboard and suggest additional features that could improve complaint monitoring.

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Taken together, the proposed changes point to an effort to make RailMadad more precise in identifying who is responsible for a grievance, while reducing delays caused by incorrect categories, duplicate complaints and procedural hurdles.

For passengers, however, the real test will be whether these backend changes translate into quicker and simpler resolution of problems during a journey.

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