Railways to introduce branded food on trains

Flooded with complaints of unhygienic and unhealthy food being served to passengers, the Indian Railways is likely to introduce "reputed brands" in the existing menus to ensure better quality.

According to a new plan drawn by the Railways, its drinking water 'Rail Neer' will be replaced by branded mineral water for AC first-class passengers in Rajdhani and Shatabadi, and there will be a provision for sugar- and salt-free diet for passengers in the premier trains.

"We have shortlisted a few reputed brands for mineral water and a final selection will be made soon," a senior Railway ministry official said. Since 'Rail Neer' does not manufacture small bottles, the Railways may source them from outside.

"The current practice of providing water in pouches in Mail and Express trains is also going to be stopped as we are planning to provide 300 ml water bottles to passengers," the official said.

While the branded curd from 'Amul' or 'Mother Diary' might replace the locally-manufactured curd, and cakes and pastries may also be served in select trains.

"There were many complaints against the quality of curds supplied in trains. So it has been decided to replace them with a popular brand. Some popular brands like Amul or Mother Diary are to be selected shortly," he said.

Delicacies like 'cakes' and 'pastries' would make their way into the menu, along with a variety of Indian sweets like 'laddoo' and 'burfi', he said.

"At present only ice cream is available as sweet dish. But it has been found out that not many passengers are keen to have it," the official said.

Apart from upgrading the quality of the eatables, the focus is also on increasing the options for the passengers with a special consideration of their preferences.

"Besides those who are diabetic, there are many who prefer to have less salt and boiled food. So we want to cater for that category of passengers too," he said.

The responsibility of catering is entirely given to the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism (IRCTC) in trains.

The IRCTC, which has an annual turnover of Rs 500 crore, has initiated massive infrastructure development drive at its kitchens to cater for the demand.

While it has revamped the base kitchens at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, it has also undertaken steps to upgrade its 20 mini-base kitchens across the country. It has invested Rs 30 crore this year for buying modern equipment for its kitchens besides going for a massive manpower training to meet the challenge.