IRCTC locks horns with RailYatri, TravelKhana over food delivery

The average number of meals booked by e-catering on trains daily has now increased to about 10,000, from 5,188 in FY18

The India Railways’ catering arm — Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) — is now at loggerheads with private sector service providers and applications — including Nandan Nilekani-backed RailYatri and TravelKhana — that were supplying food on trains.

According to people in the know, IRCTC has approached two lower courts in Karkarduma and Rohini (New Delhi), saying that the online food ordering services provided by these companies are illegal. This comes after the Delhi High Court recently ruled that railway ticketing services by the website and mobile application RailYatri was unauthorised.

The court rejected a plea filed by Stelling Technologies, which