Indian Railways Improves Its Meal Services By Offering ‘Ready-To-Eat’ Food Items

If you have ever traveled on Indian Railways, you would have noticed that the quality of food served in trains is not up to par, to put it mildly. It becomes even more of a tedious affair when the travel takes multiple days. To change the perception of its food services, Indian Railways, recently, have introduced different schemes to improve the quality of the meals.

Partnering with Startups 

Recently, IRCTC partnered with Chaayos, a tea chain, to provide its passengers with a wide variety of teas. They have also partnered with Travelkhana to provide better meal services for its passengers. Now, Indian Railways is launching a ready-to-eat food service in partnership with Gitwako Farms, BTW India, Gifts Food Products, and Aryan Food Products and the four firms will provide pre-cooked meals for passengers traveling in Mail/Express trains. 

IRCTC’s E-Catering Service

The ready-to-eat meals will be part of IRCTC’s e-catering service and the passengers will have an ‘add-on’ option under the a-la-carte category. The service will be launched in select trains with further expansion planned in the coming months. The e-catering service launched by IRCTC is currently available on 1,350 trains without pantry cars at 45 station in different parts of the country. 

Railways officials have noted that stringent measures are taken to ensure the quality and hygiene of the food remains high, including imposition of fines and penalties in case of irregularities. A helpline number, 138, to report complaints regarding the quality of food has also been initiated.