Indian Railways redefining the face of Pantry cars!

The drastic step of Indian Railways will open finite possibilities for tie-ups and association of food industry with railways.

More often than not Indian railways have been criticised for their unkempt pantry cars, Lack of cleanliness, poor hygiene and dissatisfying services. Also, the trains which are quite particular about these factors lack in innovation or variety. And still there are a huge number of trains which are not even facilitated with a pantry car, even the trains which have a long route to cover with more than 24 hours of journey, thereby leaving fewer or no options with passengers to resolve their food requirements.

Need of e-catering:

In such a scenario, the wise decision of IRCTC to open and embrace e-catering Indian Railways has definitely been a sigh of relief. This has not only solved the food availability issue but will also remark a huge impact as it opens several possibilities of association of the two giants, IRCTC and F&B industry. 

However, its passengers who will benefit out of it the most. Now you can order your favourite pizzas, burgers or any other food item from your favourite food joint. A few of the service providers have entered into a tie-up with IRCTC which means you will no longer miss your fast food on the train journey. Few years back who would have imagined gorging on a hotdog in the train?

The service:

This catering service provider offers you special thalis to give you an experience of having wholesome food with that homely feel. All you need to do is just place an order and get your parcel delivered at your berth. You can either place your order online, through a phone call or an SMS. As for payment you can either pay online or when you receive your food parcel. Order meals online at www.ecatering.irctc.co.in or by calling 0120-2383892-99/ 1800-1034-139 (toll-free) or by sending SMS Meal to 139 with details of PNR and seat number and the meals will be delivered. 

The passengers just need to update them with the train PNR number, Coach Number, Berth number and the station on which they wish to receive the delivery and you will get it delivered on your berth without having to move even a bit. These service providers are quite efficient with their call centres to take and track orders. They constantly strive to deliver the best in terms of services, facilities and customer satisfaction.

The order:

You can also get your order cancelled; all you have to do is cancel the order before 2 hours of reaching the station where you had wished to get your parcel delivered. Not only that you will also receive your refund promptly. The food prices are quite competitive and affordable so as not to cause a deep hole in passenger’s pocket. The food items to be supplied are packaged in eco-friendly takeaway packets so as to cause minimal harm to the environment. They are also careful about the hygiene and quality meal.

The project which was launched as a pilot one, definitely have all the potentials to set new benchmarks.