NEW DELHI: Passengers travelling on Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains can now enjoy ready-to-eat food in place of cooked meals. The aim is to provide fresh, good quality, hygienic food, said the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), which said this service was restricted to premium trains for the moment. Passengers can choose from ready-to-eat idlis, poha, upma, rajma chawal, vegetable and pulav, among others.
The IRCTC said as some passengers may prefer cooked food instead of ready-to-eat meals, they were being given the option of choosing between the two.
“As of now passengers are being given a choice to pick from ready-to-eat and cooked food. Rajdhani and Shatabdi train pantry cars have been provided with these packets and feedback of passenger is being collected,” an official said.
Earlier, these packets were served to passengers only in emergency situations such as train delays owing to fog or accident.
The IRCTC said passengers opting for ready-to-eat meals were not being charged extra. “The cost of both is nearly the same. But ready-to-eat meals are convenient to store, are more hygienic and the menu has more variety. There are several companies that provide ready-to-eat packets,” the official said.
The railways provides 12 lakh meals every day. About 10 lakh meals are provided through pantry cars and two lakh through static catering units at railway stations.
The railways has been experimenting with catering services and had introduced e-catering in 2015. But the service received a lukewarm response from passengers. At the moment, the share of online catering in railways is less than 1 per cent.
It also introduced optional catering services on Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto and Gatiman trains, where catering is managed by the IRCTC.
In order to improve its services on trains, the railways came up with a new catering policy in February this year. The objective is to provide quality food to rail passengers by unbundling catering services on trains.
The IRCTC has been mandated to carry out the unbundling by creating a distinction, primarily between food preparation and food distribution.