The Indian Railways said today it has terminated the contracts of 15 caterers and debarred 16 catering contractors this year till November amidst complaints of over-charging and poor quality food served on trains.

The ministry, which often receives complaints from passengers over catering issues on its official Twitter handle, is known to respond to them on real-time basis.

According to the official data, the national transporter has imposed fines amounting to Rs 8.96 crore from January to October 2017, which was more than double the amount – Rs 4.05 crore – levied last year between January and December.

“The ministry is very concerned about complaints regarding catering. We have given instructions that strict action must be taken against those caterers against whom complaints are made and proven. We have zero tolerance towards such issues regarding food on our trains,” said Railway Ministry spokesperson Anil Saxena.