Ministry of Railways posts video to refute claim of overcrowding in second AC coach: ‘Please don’t malign the image of Indian Railways’

The Ministry of Railways, on Saturday, shared a video to prove there was no overcrowding in a certain train. The original video showing overcrowding in the second AC coach was posted on April 14.

Railways Ministry reacts to viral videos showing overcrowded trains

Many X users have been sharing videos of poorly-managed trains, overcrowded with allegedly ticketless passengers. Following the outrage triggered by many such videos, the official X handle of the Ministry of Railways on Saturday addressed claims of mismanagement and overcrowding in its AC coaches and asked people to “not malign” its image.

Reacting to a video reshared by @kapsology, saying, “The crowd has reached one of the most premium coaches of Indian trains,” the ministry quote-posted another video showing an almost-empty coach. The ministry wrote, “The present video of the coach. No overcrowding. Please don’t malign the image of Indian Railways by sharing misleading videos.”

In the comments, many X users wondered how posting a video taken on some random train, possibly on Saturday, to refute a claim of overcrowding tweeted on April 14, makes sense.

Take a look at the post here:

The present video of the coach. No overcrowding. Please don't malign the image of Indian Railways by sharing misleading videos. https://t.co/70xQkhRVdT pic.twitter.com/ivz9LDyFly

— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) April 20, 2024

The ministry’s clarification did not go well with social media users who bashed it over its ‘pathetic’ response. Reacting to it, a user commented, “You are here to serve the citizens by listening to their concerns. What pathetic response is this?” Another user wrote, “Ministry of Railways – You are publicly refusing to acknowledge real grievances of passengers (with video proofs)? And instead, you are calling them liars? Unbelievable, such arrogance.”

“Well, the pathetic situation in trains nowadays is very common. Ticketless passengers everywhere, causing inconvenience to people with confirmed tickets. Instead of caring only about your already tarnished “image”, how about some preventive measures to avoid such commotion?” a third user argued.

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Another video that went viral on X showed the glass of a train window being broken by someone outside the train. The video went viral with a claim that it was shot inside the third AC coach of Kaifiyat Express. The Ministry of Railways reacted to this video too, refuting the claim based on an ‘internal’ investigation. “Based on the internal investigation. No such incident related to the breaking of glass was reported. Kindly refrain from sharing old misleading videos,” it wrote.

Based on the internal investigation. No such incident related to breaking of glass was reported. Kindly refrain from sharing old misleading videos. https://t.co/9TlYqVIVdr pic.twitter.com/hrBsf4MoAh

— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) April 20, 2024

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi shared a viral video of a passenger showing an overcrowded train and took a potshot at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a post on X, Gandhi wrote that passengers of every class are being harassed by the Modi government which is reducing the number of general coaches from common man’s trains and promoting only ‘elite trains’.