CHENNAI: Attractive signboards, tables to place the food on, burgers and cheese sandwiches in addition to the regular idli, vada and upma. The newly renovated Jan Aahar - the railways run subsidised restaurant- at Chennai Central Railway Station has elicited good response from passengers.
The opening on the side of the new concourse of the terminal station was closed down for renovation a few weeks back and was opened last Friday. Despite serving subsidised food, the outlet has a high-end restaurant’s feel to it due to the ambience, feels 26-year-old S Yogesh, a Chennai based engineer. “This is the second time I’m eating after its renovation. Previously the food would be cold and I always felt suspicious of the quality due to the outlet’s look. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that burgers were also available,” he said, chatting with CE on Monday morning.
A senior official of the Chennai division of Southern Railway said that they would be adding even more variety soon. “Next on the anvil is stuffed parathas, which is an evergreen favourite,” the official said. The division had ensured that procurement of raw materials for the food were procured from reputed outlets to maintain its quality, the official added.
Prior to the renovation, the tables were outside the outlet on the concourse and would also pose trouble to the free flow of passenger movement during peak hours. “Moving the tables inside was a good idea. Though the passengers wouldn’t understand its importance, as those managing the crowd, we find this arrangement suitable,” said an Railway Protection Force (RPF) official.
This Jan Aahar is the only such railway-run outlet in the entire Southern Railway network and earns a revenue of Rs 1.2 lakh per day. “We have set a target of Rs 1.5 lakh per day. Currently it makes a profit of Rs 4-5 lakhs per month,” he said.