The Gravy Train – Indian Railways Has A Graft Problem

The transport behemoth suffers the ignominy of receiving one of the highest numbers of corruption complaints among state-run entities, second only to banks. 

It accounted for 9,381 of the more than 70,500 corruption complaints against officials of government departments and public sector organisations in 2025, as per the Central Vigilance Commission’s (CVC) latest data.  

Banks Account For Largest Share Of Complaints

Banks accounted for the largest share of complaints, receiving 9,933 cases during the year. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs was next, with 6,531 complaints.

A senior CVC official attributed “the high volume of corruption complaints in the railways partly to the expanding operational and construction footprint”. 

With successive approvals for multi-tracking, electrification, and other major civil works, the network is handling increasingly large amounts of public expenditure, leaving its personnel more exposed to graft than other government employees, the official said.

“The Indian Railways also has an unusually extensive day-to-day interface with the public,” the official noted, alluding to the possibility of bribery.

Complaints against railway employees have remained consistently high over the years, barring the exceptional COVID-19 period in 2020. Of the 9,381 complaints received in 2025, Chief Vigilance Officers (CVOs) disposed of 8,754 complaints, while 627 remained pending at the end of the year.

Infrastructure Expansion

The government has been showcasing the railway network as a provider of modern, world-class services, including semi-high-speed Vande Bharat trains and upgraded railway stations, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train, and 100% electrification.

Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, 62 railway projects, involving an estimated investment of ₹274,176 crore, have been approved. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has repeatedly said that passenger services and infrastructure have improved substantially with the introduction of new trains and modern facilities.

The network accounts for around 18% of all Indian travellers. It carries some 13,000-odd passenger trains a day and moves more than 2 crore people daily. 

Long-Term Trend

The long-term trend reinforces the concern. 

CVC data shows that the Railways received 12,394 corruption complaints in 2015, followed by 11,200 in 2016 and 12,089 in 2017. After a relatively subdued 2018, complaints climbed again to 11,003 in 2019.

The pandemic year of 2020 was different, with only 321 complaints recorded as passenger movement and railway operations were severely disrupted. The number, however, surged back after the pandemic, reaching 11,003 in 2021 and 10,447 in 2022.

In 2024, the railways recorded 8,177 complaints - lower than the levels seen in most previous years but still substantial.

The CVC data throws up a contrasting picture: while the government accelerates investment and promotes the railways as a technologically advanced public utility, corruption complaints remain a significant institutional challenge.