New Delhi: Get ready to be served the most delicious food while travelling on the trains. Passengers will get branded ‘ready-to-eat’ meals from next month in all express and mail trains.
Ensuring quality and hygienic food, the Indian Railways are ready to allow reputed brands such as ITC, MTR, Maiyas, Kohinoor Foods and Kellogg’s to serve meals on board.
In the first phase, the services of branded pre-cooked foods would be made available in all mail and express trains having pantry car. The branded food would be served to passengers as an ‘add on’ option in addition to other standard items as part of catering service on these trains.
The passengers could choose from a menu card indicating the ‘ready to eat’ items, its brand, weight and rates. The food would be served hot and in a sealed pack.
An official said zonal railways would fix the rates for the pre-cooked food. He, however, said the rates will not be different from the existing rates charged by the caterers.
The Railways expect that given the high volume and branding opportunity, the companies would agree on charging reasonable rates.
The zonal railways would select the companies and branded items to ensure variety, quality, hygiene and affordable choices for the passengers. The companies have to meet the national and international quality norms.
The move came after the railways, which serves cooked food such as dal, chapatti and rice, received positive feedback on branded pre-cooked food.
On a trial basis, the transporter served pre-cooked foods on premium trains which are on high-demand routes. As the fares in such trains are decided by dynamic pricing, the tickets are booked online only and the rates are inclusive of food.
The power to shortlist firms has been given to zonal railways as the transporter would try to add regional cuisine such as upma, idli, sambhar in trains from the South, and dal and shahi paneer in those from the North.
The railways had promised to introduce pre-cooked (ready to eat) food of reputed brands in the budget in order to improve quality and hygiene and provide variety.