Railways eases mandatory catering charges, makes it optional in four trains

New Delhi: Seeking to explore the possibility of making mandatory catering services optional on trains, the railway ministry has decided to put it on trial in four premium trains .

The project will start on a pilot basis for 45 days.

The trial, beginning from June 15, will be conducted to ascertain the cuisine choices of the passengers and provide them with local food choices .

The four premium pairs of trains where the trial is to be conducted are Nizamuddin-Mumbai Central (12953-12954) August Kranti Rajdhani, New Delhi-Patna Rajdhani (12309-12310), Pune-Secunderabad Shatabdi Express (12025-26) and Howrah-Puri Shatabdi Express (12277-12278).

During the trial, catering services will be included in the ticket price by default. However, passengers would have to specifically opt out from the mandatory food option and catering charges would be excluded from the ticket fare. The passengers cannot change this option after the tickets are booked.