Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi
New Delhi, Dec 13: Train travel in India could soon get tastier, with passengers being served food from popular restaurant brands and industrial kitchens on board. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has begun testing a revamped on-board catering model on select trains to enhance meal quality and service standards.
Under a Proof of Concept (PoC) initiative, IRCTC has separated meal preparation from meal service, allowing reputed food and beverage brands, industrial kitchens, restaurant chains and flight caterers to supply meals. The objective, IRCTC said, is to provide fresh and hygienic food and bring perceptible improvements in on-board catering services.
The trials are currently underway across multiple railway zones on select Vande Bharat and Amrit Bharat trains. IRCTC, a Navaratna Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Railways, presently serves around 16.50 lakh meals daily across the Indian Railways network.
In an official release, IRCTC said the initiative aims to usher in a “paradigm shift” in the quality of meals served on trains. The PoC evaluates the entire catering supply chain, focusing on kitchen infrastructure, meal production, transportation and on-board service.
As part of the trials, specific trains have been linked with different catering partners. The Nagpur–Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express is being serviced by Haldiram’s (Nagpur) and Elior (Secunderabad). Meals on the Delhi–Sitamarhi Amrit Bharat train are supplied by Touch Stone Foundation, Delhi. Casino Air Caterers and Flight Services has been engaged for the Kasargod–Thiruvananthapuram service and the Mangaluru–Thiruvananthapuram Vande Bharat Express.
IRCTC said the trials are also offering passengers a diverse, restaurant-quality menu, including local delicacies, aimed at improving overall travel satisfaction. Initial feedback from passengers on trains covered under the PoC has been positive.
The findings from the ongoing trials will now be reviewed, and based on the results, IRCTC may consider expanding the new catering model to more train services in the future.