Indian Railways Make Catering Optional in 31 Premium Trains, Tickets to Cost Less

Catering charges ranging from Rs 175 to Rs 340 will be deducted from the total fare if the passenger opts out from the mandatory food options.

New Delhi, July 28: The Indian Railways has now made catering optional in 31 premium trains, including seven Rajdhanis, six Shatabdis and Durontos, on a trial basis for six months. Passengers can now opt out of the catering facility offered by the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) while booking their tickets, reports said. This would reduce the cost of the tickets on these trains by around Rs 250.

Passengers, however, cannot change their option during the journey once they opt out, the Indian Express reported.

Catering charges ranging from Rs 175 to Rs 340 will be deducted from the total fare if the passenger opts out from the mandatory food options. Depending on the journey time, the catering charges are being levied. For train running longer distances, the catering charges are higher. The charges are also different for different classes as well.

Earlier, the railways had made the meal optional on Nizamuddin-Mumbai August Kranti Rajdhani Express and Pune-Secunderabad Shatabdi Express. The scheme is also available on the superfast Tejas Express from Mumbai to Goa.

With e-catering facility also available for passengers, it will be an added advantage for travellers. A passenger can chose meal from a host of outlets — Sagar Ratna, Saravana Bhavan, Bikanervala, Nirula’s, KFC, McDonald’s, Haldiram’s, Domino’s and Pizza Hut — from online catering service.

According to railways, the catering services in all trains with pantry cars will be handed over to IRCTC by the year-end in order to improve onboard food quality. Till now, the zonal railways were managing catering services in majority trains as per the catering policy 2010.

There are about 350 trains including Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto which are equipped with pantry cars.