IRCTC Proof of Concept (PoC) meal trials on select Vande Bharat / Amrit Bharat trains through reputed food & beverage operators

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd. (IRCTC), is a Navaratna, Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Railways. IRCTC is presently serving approximately 16.50 lakh meals per day across the length and breadth of Indian railways and it is consistently working to enhance the services being provided to the travelling passengers.

In order to have “PARADIGM SHIFT” in quality of meal services in trains and with an objective to have perceptible improvements in on-board catering services in trains IRCTC has commenced meal trials is some select trains. The focus through these trials remains on kitchen infrastructure, meal production processes, transfer of meal and service of meal in the entire supply chain.

Advertisement

IRCTC in this respect is undertaking PoC de-linking meal production and meal service, so that branded F&B players i.e. industrial kitchens, restaurant chains, and flight caterers are roped to provide fresh, hygienic meals for service to the passengers. The PoC is being conducted across various zones in some of newly introduced Vande Bharat & Amrit Bharat Trains. The bouquet of these trains under PoC is as under:

• Train No: 20101/20102 – Nagpur–Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express by M/s Haldiram’s (Nagpur) and Elior (Secunderabad)
• Train No: 14047/14048 Delhi–Sitamarhi Amrit Bharat – M/s Touch Stone Foundation (Delhi)
• Train No: 20633/20634 – Kasargod–Trivandrum – Casino Air Caterers & Flight Services (CAFS) and Train No: 20631/20632 -Mangalore–Trivandrum- Vande Bharat Exp (commencing from 16/12/25) – Casino Air Caterers & Flight Services (CAFS)
• Train No: 26901/26902 Ahmedabad–Veraval Vande Bharat Express – M/s CAFS Kitchen (Gandhinagar) and M/s Safal Foodies (Rajkot)
• Train No: 26401/02 & Train No: 26403/04 Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra–Srinagar Vande Bharat trains – Vaishno Devi Sarovar Portico (Katra & Srinagar)
• Train No: 15567/15568 Bapudham Motihari–Anand Vihar Amrit Bharat Express – M/s ISKON, Dwarka.

These meal trials also provide passengers with a diverse, restaurant-quality menu including local delicacies aimed at improving satisfaction level during travel. There has been positive feedback from the passengers about meal services in aforesaid trains. The insights gained from this PoC shall be examined to bring about further improvement and expansion in the catering services being provided to our valued travelers.