RRB Practice 15

Catering services on Indian Railways have undergone substantial transformation since the establishment of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, commonly known as IRCTC, as a public sector undertaking wholly owned by the Ministry of Railways. IRCTC was incorporated in 1999 with the mandate to upgrade and professionalise catering, tourism, and online ticketing services on Indian Railways, functions that had previously been managed directly by the railway administration with varying degrees of success and consistency. The catering model on trains involves multiple components — base kitchens, also called production units, located at major stations along a route, which prepare fresh food to be loaded onto trains; pantry cars attached to trains equipped with cooking facilities for the preparation of hot beverages, snacks, and reheated meals during the journey; and mobile catering trolleys and hawkers operating on platforms and at intermediate stations. Base kitchens operated by IRCTC or its licensees are required to meet specified standards of food safety and hygiene under the guidelines of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India and are subject to regular inspection and audit. The pantry car, a dedicated coach in a train equipped with a small kitchen, refrigerator, water storage, and service area, is a feature of most long-distance express and mail trains, allowing passengers to obtain hot meals and beverages throughout a journey that may last twelve to forty hours or more. IRCTC has introduced the concept of e-catering, allowing passengers to pre-order meals from restaurants and food delivery partners at selected stations, with the food delivered to the passenger's seat by a vendor who boards the train at the relevant station. This service has expanded significantly the choice available to passengers beyond the standard railway menu and has enabled local food businesses to reach railway passengers as a market. The Train Side Vending programme brings vendors onto trains at specified stops to sell refreshments through the train window, a practice that has long been a distinctive feature of the Indian railway travel experience. Regional cuisine reflects the culinary heritage of the areas through which trains pass — samosas and chai in the north, idli and vada in the south, vada pav in Maharashtra, and litti chokha in Bihar — giving passengers a taste of local food culture during their journey. IRCTC manages a portfolio of tourist trains including the Maharajas Express, Deccan Odyssey, Buddhist Circuit Special, and Golden Chariot, which offer luxury travel experiences with on-board catering of high quality. Food safety complaints, concerns about overcharging by caterers, and inconsistent quality have been recurring issues in railway catering, and Indian Railways has introduced digital feedback mechanisms including the Train Captain service and the real-time passenger feedback app to capture complaints and enable timely redressal. The introduction of the premium Vande Bharat Express and other semi-high-speed trains has been accompanied by an upgraded catering model featuring fresh meals prepared at base kitchens and served in individual trays, replacing the older system of shared serving dishes.