Overview
- Passengers on the New Delhi–Rani Kamlapati Shatabdi Express were served packaged bread stamped with a 'use by' date of July 10, 2026, with about 74 travellers in coach C‑4 affected on Saturday.
- IRCTC de‑rostered the catering manager and other staff, fined the vendor ₹1 lakh and launched an investigation while saying no illnesses have been officially reported so far.
- Railway officials say food quality is checked twice each morning and again at loading but investigators are probing how one or more expired packets escaped those inspections.
- Travellers flagged the issue through the Rail Madad app, the National Consumer Helpline and social media, and similar dated bread was found among catering supplies outside the coach, raising concern about wider distribution.
- The case follows a separate Shatabdi catering complaint the previous day and has renewed scrutiny of vendor oversight on premium trains, increasing the likelihood of tighter zone‑level audits and stricter vendor compliance checks.