IRCTC joins hands with online food major Foodpanda

Online food major Foodpanda has tied up with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) for order and delivery of food to railway passengers, the company said in a statement.

IRCTC is a subsidiary of the Indian Railways that handles its catering, tourism and online ticketing operations. 

It will enable consumers to order meals of their choice through Foodpanda’s aggregator model, and allow them to order from a wide variety of options.

To ensure that food reaches consumers in the best condition, Foodpanda will deploy its own delivery fleet to fulfil all deliveries.

The service will be initially launched at the New Delhi Railway station and after a successful roll-out, the service will be extended to cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune and Chennai.

Customers will have the choice to order meals at least two hours in advance of their travel. Delivery of food will be aligned to the train arrival time at the station and consumers can pay for the order in advance online or make on the spot cash payment.

Speaking about the association, Saurabh Kochhar, chief executive officer, Foodpanda, said: “Our association with IRCTC will be an offering which addresses a huge consumer need prevailing for years. For long, consumers had limited food options to choose from while travelling with Indian Railways, but the newly launched e-catering service by IRCTC (approved by Ministry of Railways) is set to change the way Indians eat while travelling.”

Robin Kalita, director, Catering Services, IRCTC, said: “At IRCTC, it has been our endeavour to extend (the) best possible service to our passengers. Food forms a very important part of the travel experience and IRCTC takes immense care to offer healthy and hygienic food to its travellers on-board.”