Drinking water served to passengers at several Indian railway stations, including Palakkad Junction in Kerala, is contaminated with E Coli bacteria, a damning audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has revealed. The national watchdog found the presence of the faecal bacteria—which can cause severe gastrointestinal illness—in water coolers and taps across multiple railway zones. Out of 512 non-suburban railway stations surveyed for passenger safety and amenities, contaminated water samples were recovered from taps at 49 stations.
The audit highlighted critical sanitation lapses at Palakkad Junction, where water tested positive for contaminated pathogens. Inspectors found that the main water tank supplying the station was left partially uncovered, allowing birds and bats nesting in an overhanging tree to contaminate the source. The report also pointed out that incomplete platform roofing leaves passengers exposed to heavy rain. Similar lapses were observed at other Kerala stations, including Aluva and Thiruvananthapuram Central, where essential passenger facilities like water coolers and station fans were found to be completely non-functional.

The CAG report evaluated passenger amenities across several Kerala stations, including Kozhikode, Kanhangad, Thuravoor, and Kottarakkara. While Kerala and other southern states fared significantly better in terms of general cleanliness compared to their northern counterparts, major gaps remain. An audit of 243 stations in northern states revealed waiting halls stained with betel juice, and platforms at 21 stations still being used for open defecation. Conversely, the CAG praised the Kacheguda station in Telangana as a model of hygiene for introducing dedicated spitting stations.

Despite an April 2018 directive from the Railway Board mandating basic amenities—including clean drinking water, seating, waiting rooms, foot overbridges, and toilets—at all stations within a set timeframe, many facilities still do not have basic toilets, the CAG noted. The federal auditor has urged the Ministry of Railways to enforce strict testing protocols for all drinking water systems. Following the tabling of the report in Parliament, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw assured that immediate steps have been taken to clean up the water supply and upgrade passenger amenities across the network.