The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), led by K.C. Venugopal, criticized the Indian Railways on February 9, 2026, for unequal sanitation in trains. The PAC described it as a "caste system," where premium trains like Vande Bharat have better cleaning and linen than regular passenger trains. The panel reviewed the Comptroller and Auditor General of India's report on sanitation in long-distance trains up to March 2023. Satish Kumar, Chairman and CEO of the Railway Board, told the committee about challenges like limited stoppages, staff shortages, budget limits, and large passenger numbers affecting cleanliness. However, committee members disagreed, saying these long-standing problems should have been fixed with clear actions by now. The PAC recommended regular cleanliness audits across all railway zones. It also asked the Railways to create a complete digital dashboard to track passenger complaints and their resolution. The panel stressed the need for a fair system to handle grievances and suggested combining penalties and rewards based on cleanliness performance. They also called for a detailed study to improve laundry management for train linens. Mr. Kumar shared that the Railways has introduced "quick-watering stations" to clean trains faster at key stops, especially for long-distance services with few halts. The PAC urged a large increase in the number of these stations and recommended raising the sanitation budget significantly. Indian Railways runs 12,541 passenger trains, carrying over 17.52 million passengers daily across more than 7,364 stations.