Mumbai, May 9 (IANS): Taking serious cognisance of an incident of drinking water and beverages stored in the toilet of a train, the Western Railway (WR) on Tuesday slapped a hefty fine and initiated proceedings to sack the contractor, an official said.

Western Railway chief spokesperson Ravinder Bhakar said that the shocking incident came to light in the form of a video shot inside the coach for handicapped passengers on the Mumbai-Nizamuddin Garib Rath Express on April 26.

As the video went viral on social media showing the staffers of the catering contractor - identified as Krishna Enterprises, Bandra, Mumbai - storing tea, coffee, soft drinks and others in the train toilet before serving them to the passengers, an embarrassed WR launched an investigation.

Besides the penalty of Rs 100,000 and a showcause notice, the WR has also moved the IRCTC to terminate the contract with the errant contractor.

Simultaneously, a WR team is checking all operations of the caterer on the above train to ensure compliance of various norms.

Additionally, a five-day drive is now underway on all WR long-distance trains to check the pantry services, review, report and rectify deficiencies in catering services and ensure such incidents don't recur, said Bhakar.