Revamp in works for IRCTC meals
NEW DELHI: When we approached the Railway Board for a price increase, they allowed us to rationalise the menu instead. We are now taking a host of measures to improve quality of service and food RAILWAYS OFFICIAL
Quality, not quantity, that’s going to be the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation’s (IRCTC) approach when it comes to railway meals.
It has decided to cut down on the quantity of food provided to passengers in Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains based on one of the recommendations of a committee that each one-person meal should be 700 gm, instead of the 900 gm currently provided by Indian Railways on these trains.
According to an IRCTC officer the plan is to improve quality by reducing the quantity.
That may also help the corporation from the financial perspective, an IRCTC officer admitted on condition of anonymity.
“The price for a meal is stagnant and has not been increased for years, although the price of items we serve has increased drastically. When we approached the Railway Board for a price increase, they allowed us to rationalize the menu instead of increasing the price. We are now taking a host of measure to improve quality of service and food item in trains,” added this person.
In terms of quantity, IRCTC has informed the Railway board that it has decided to cut down the quantity of dal from 150gm to 120 gm, will serve boneless chicken, discontinue soup, and will add a serving of dry vegetable.
For those taking a long journey, the second meal will be lighter, typically a one-bowl meal, instead of a full one.
The rationalized menu will first be introduced in 27 trains, where IRCTC directly provides the catering service.
As part of its efforts to improve the service, Indian Railways is improving the quality of packaging and also of wait-staff.
“We have also changed the packing of plate and instead of plastic tray; the food will now be served in disposable plates, which are biodegradable,” the officer added.
“We are also improving the quality of catering staff,” this person said.
“Earlier, there were no criteria but now the waiter is required to have a diploma from National Skill Development Corporation or any other similar body. We will also provide in-house diploma under ‘Hunar se Rozgar” scheme. The uniform of waiter will be same across all the trains,” said a second IRCTC officer familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified.
Also in the plans are trolleys to wheel the meals around, and providing a sanitiser to passengers.
Indian Railways is conducting a trial run of the new meal in the Nizamuddin-Mumbai Rajdhani and new biodegradable plates will be introduced in four Rajdhani and four Shatabdi trains on Tuesday on the occasion of World Environment Day.