NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Railways run 24 Rajdhani Express trains which is categorised as a premium daily-basis train connecting the national capital to the capitals of several states with onboard catering services. But these trains continue to receive a plethora of complaints from passengers about the poor quality and quantity of food served onboard.
The complaints pour in despite efforts taken up by the Railways to improve the catering services on the Rajdhani Express trains.
According to an official, the Ministry of Railway received 6,361 complaints in the last three years (till October 31, 2022) from across the country against the poor quality of meals served in the most premium Rajdhani trains.
With regard to this matter, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently informed the Parliament, "The Railway has upgraded the base kitchens units by installing the CCTV cameras for real-time monitoring of food preparations for onboard catering services in the Rajdhani trains."
The minister also said that supervisors of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) have been deployed in Rajdhani Express trains to ensure the quality of meals and food materials.
"QR codes have also been introduced on food packets enabling display of details like name of the kitchen, date of packaging, expiry and weights to the knowledge of passengers. Also, a third-party audit is carried out to examine hygiene and cleanliness in pantry cars and kitchen units along with conducting customer satisfaction," the minister claimed.
The minister also said that food samples are collected randomly as part of inspection and monitoring mechanisms to ensure the quality of food served in Rajdhani and other Express trains.
"In the last three years, 787 samples were collected by IRCTC supervisors and other officials entrusted with the task," he said.