A CAG audit of 512 non-suburban stations exposes gaps in drinking water, toilets, accessibility and other passenger amenities – while Parliament now seeks answers from the Railways
India is investing heavily in transforming its railway stations.
New station buildings, upgraded platforms, lifts, escalators, digital passenger information systems and redesigned public spaces are becoming part of the country’s railway modernisation story.
But beneath that transformation lies a more basic question:
Are passengers consistently getting the essential facilities they are already supposed to have?
A detailed audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India has put that question on record.
The CAG’s Report No. 31 of 2026 on Passenger Amenities and Sanitation at Non-Suburban Railway Stations in Indian Railways, tabled in Parliament on August 12, examined 512 non-suburban railway stations.
Its findings reveal gaps in some of the most basic facilities expected at railway stations – including drinking water, toilets, seating, platform shelters, accessibility and sanitation.
The issue has now moved beyond an audit report. The Public Accounts Committee has sought responses from the Railways, including explanations for deficiencies, delays and the functioning of monitoring mechanisms.
RIAAN.TV FINDS: The modernisation story has a basic-services gap
The CAG’s audit found that only 54 of the 512 stations examined had all the prescribed Minimum Essential Amenities.
That means the overwhelming majority of stations in the audit sample had at least one deficiency.
It is important to make one distinction clear: the CAG did not say that 89 per cent of all Indian railway stations lack basic amenities. Its finding relates specifically to the 512 stations selected for audit.
But the scale of the sample makes the finding significant.
The Minimum Essential Amenities framework is not new. The Railway Board introduced the framework in 2003 and revised it in 2018.
The facilities covered include drinking-water arrangements, toilets and urinals, seating, waiting areas, platform shelters, fans, signage and other passenger necessities.
The question, therefore, is not whether standards exist.
The question is why significant gaps remain after those standards have been in place for years.
Water: the most basic facility
Among the audit findings are concerns relating to drinking-water infrastructure and water quality.
The audit identified deficiencies in the availability of prescribed drinking-water taps and water coolers at a number of stations.
The CAG’s findings also brought water-quality testing into focus, with bacteriological contamination detected in samples collected during the audit period at some stations.
That turns drinking water from a convenience issue into a public-health and passenger-safety issue.
Indian Railways has subsequently launched a special drive to clean and disinfect drinking-water tanks and filtration systems across its network.
The Railway Ministry said the exercise would include comprehensive inspection and rectification of drinking-water infrastructure, with station-wise deficiencies and action taken to be monitored.
The response is important because it creates something that can be measured:
Were the deficiencies identified by the audit actually corrected?
The missing basics
The audit found shortcomings across several categories of passenger amenities.
Among the findings were deficiencies in:
drinking-water taps;
water coolers;
urinals and toilets;
covered platform areas;
clocks;
dustbins;
seating and other passenger facilities;
accessibility infrastructure for persons with disabilities.
These are not premium additions to a railway station.
They are the infrastructure of an ordinary passenger journey.
A passenger waiting for a train does not necessarily need a redesigned facade.
They need drinking water.
They need a usable toilet.
They need somewhere to sit.
They need protection from heat and rain.
And a passenger with a disability needs to be able to move through the station independently and safely.
That is where the CAG findings acquire significance.
The accessibility question
The audit also examined facilities intended to improve accessibility for persons with disabilities.
Deficiencies were identified in areas including ramps, earmarked parking, walkways and drinking-water arrangements.
This raises a larger question about what railway modernisation actually means.
A station cannot be considered fully modern simply because it has a new building or improved aesthetics.
Modernisation has to be measured by usability.
If an elderly passenger cannot comfortably reach a platform, if a wheelchair user encounters an inaccessible route, or if basic passenger facilities are missing, the transformation remains incomplete.
And then there is the money
One of the most important aspects of the CAG findings concerns not merely the availability of infrastructure, but the utilisation of resources.
The audit period covered 2019-20 to 2023-24.
According to the parliamentary follow-up on the CAG report, only around 56 to 64 per cent of available funding was utilised annually for the relevant passenger-amenity works, while the audit also identified substantial delays in projects.
This changes the question.
The problem cannot simply be described as a shortage of money.
It becomes a question of planning, execution, monitoring and accountability.
If funds are available but projects remain delayed, the passenger ultimately sees only one thing:
the facility is still not there.
The paradox of railway modernisation
This is where India’s current railway transformation meets the findings of the audit.
The Railways is simultaneously pursuing large-scale station redevelopment and trying to address shortcomings in basic passenger facilities.
The government has also announced substantial allocations for passenger amenities. In April 2026, the Railway Ministry said more than ₹34,000 crore had been allocated over the previous three years for passenger amenities, while permanent passenger holding areas and other facilities were being developed at heavily crowded stations.
The investment is substantial.
The challenge identified by the CAG is therefore not simply about spending more.
It is about ensuring that investment translates into functional infrastructure at the passenger’s level.
Why the audit matters now
The CAG report could have remained another document in Parliament’s records.
It has not.
The Public Accounts Committee has now sought responses from the Railways on the deficiencies highlighted by the audit.
The committee is examining questions around passenger amenities, sanitation, delays, budget utilisation and the effectiveness of existing monitoring mechanisms. It is also seeking station-wise action plans relating to accessibility requirements.
That creates a new accountability chain:
CAG identifies the gap.
Railways responds.
Parliament examines the response.
The next question is whether the passenger sees the difference.
RIAAN.TV FINDS: The real test is not the new station building
India’s railway stations are changing.
That transformation is visible.
But the CAG audit points to another layer of the story – the everyday infrastructure that is less visible and far more important to an ordinary passenger.
A modern railway station is not defined only by architecture.
It is defined by whether the basics work.
Safe drinking water.
Functional toilets.
Adequate seating.
Covered platforms.
Clean surroundings.
Accessible routes.
Reliable passenger information.
Facilities that work when passengers actually need them.
The CAG has documented the gaps.
The Railways has begun corrective measures in areas such as drinking-water infrastructure.
Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee is now seeking explanations and action plans.
The next measure of success is therefore straightforward:
not how impressive a station looks after redevelopment, but how reliably it serves the person standing on its platform.
That is where India’s railway modernisation will ultimately be judged – at passenger level, one station at a time.
RIAAN.TV DEEP FILE | THE DOCUMENT BEHIND THE STORY
Primary document: Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Report No. 31 of 2026 – Passenger Amenities and Sanitation at Non-Suburban Railway Stations in Indian Railways, tabled in Parliament on August 12, 2026.
Latest development: The Public Accounts Committee has sought responses from Indian Railways on the audit findings.
Railway response: Indian Railways launched a special drive in August 2026 to clean and disinfect drinking-water tanks and filters and to monitor station-wise deficiencies and corrective action.
