Railways plans to revamp catering system, remove pantry cars from trains

New Delhi: With an aim to make train travel more comfortable and homely, the Indian Railways is planning to revamp its existing catering policy.

According to a report in a leading daily 'The Hindu', a government-appointed committee is in favour of revamping the existing catering policy, arguing that the railways should not “micro-manage” catering policies to the extent of fixing the food menu on different trains.

If the recommendations of government panel are accepted, pantry cars on trains would soon become history it will give passengers freedom to opt for a variety of food alternatives, ranging from ready-to-eat meals to local cuisines.

The panel, among other recommendations, has argued that passengers on all trains must receive tea or coffee kits as presently provided on premium trains.

The panel, however, says that meals may be provided as an option on the Rajdhani, Duronto and Shatabdi trains.

The Railway Ministry sources claim that the government has started work on implementing the recommendations made by the panel led by RD Sharma, chief commercial manager of the Central Railways, and a new catering policy will be released soon.

The committee has also asked the Railways to take a slew of steps to check exorbitant pricing of meals. It has called for pricing of meals in the multiples of Rs. 10.

“Vegetarian standard meal can be priced at Rs 50 and non-vegetarian meal at Rs 70,” the panel reportedly said in its.

For quality control, a third party auditor will be appointed to look into the maintenance of catering standards on trains.