Water leakage inside Vande Bharat Train on Varanasi-New Delhi route

A trending video points out that the railways are blaming clogged filters for the water leak spotted on the Vande Bharat train running between Varanasi and Delhi. Darshil Mishra, who was on the train, shared his experience online, saying that despite multiple complaints, the railway staff did nothing to fix the issue. He also posted a video showing water leaking from the roof. Another clip from the same journey went viral, with some people jokingly calling it a “freebie” on India’s premium train.

  “AC not working and water leakage on VandeBharat train. Extremely uncomfortable journey despite premium fare,” Mishra wrote on X (formerly Twitter). 

In a follow-up post, Mishra demanded a “full refund”. “Nothing is happening, all the staffs are irresponsible. Despite of several complaints no action taked, Ac temperature is too high. I want my full refund,” Mishra further said. 

He also claimed, “They told me to compromise on camera, I will surely get my full refund of the fare from the consumer forum.”

At first, the Railways didn’t really do anything about his complaints. They simply issued a statement after all the criticism had already piled up. Basically, they explained that the issue was caused by clogged drain holes in the RMPU's (Roof Mounted Package Unit) Return Air Duct. Water managed to get into the air duct when the train was braking, and then started dripping into the passenger area because the mixed media/return air filter was blocked up, creating the clog.

“A case of water leakage was reported from the return air duct in coach C-7 (seat no. 76) on Train No. 22415 (Varanasi–New Delhi Vande Bharat Express). Condensate water accumulated under the cooling coil of the RMPU due to the drain holes of the drip tray by the Mix media/return air filter. The water, during braking, entered the return air duct, causing water to drip into the passenger area,” RailwaySeva wrote on X.