CHENNAI: Chennai Express, the first-of-its-kind rail coach restaurant in south India was thrown open to the public at the Chennai Rail Museum, ICF, on Saturday. After the rail coach restaurant in Bhopal, this is the second such facility opened by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) in the country.
Visitors to the rail museum can now enjoy multi-cuisine meals at the rail coach-themed air-conditioned restaurant which was inaugurated by officials a week ago. Chennaities can now visit the rail museum, watch a movie at the 90-seater theatre and also have meals inside a railway coach, all under one roof at the Chennai Rail Museum.
The restaurant,which can accommodate 64 people inside the rail coach and 16 people outside on the platform, offers a variety of delicacies in Indian, South Indian, Continental and Chinese cuisines. “From the restaurant people can see food being prepared in the railway container nearby and kebabs being grilled on the platform,” said an ICF official.
The shell of this restaurant was designed similar to that of conventional ICF coaches whose production was discontinued since January this year. The move is aimed at adding an antique touch to the otherwise modern interiors of the restaurant, said officials.
According to a statement, the interior of an LHB (Linke Hoffman Busch) rail coach provided by the ICF was furnished along with the IRCTC in a period of three months to enhance the visitors’ experience.
The rail coach restaurant will be open from 12 pm to 3 pm for lunch and from 7 pm to 10.30 pm for dinner. A similar set-up will be created in three months in Chatrapathi Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai and later, in Cochin as well, said officials.