Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Wednesday announced a slew of measures to provide quality food to train passengers.
The Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), which had started “station-based e-catering services” last year, is now expanding services to over 400 “A-1” and “A” stations from the current 49.
Prabhu also indicated that the Railways will explore the possibility of “making mandatory catering services by IRCTC optional in trains”.
Several domestic and global restaurant brands have already come on board for e-catering services. Players believe expanding it to other stations will help them drive on-the-go consumption. Also, more consumers will now have access to a variety of food options.
Pushpinder Singh, co-founder & CEO of TravelKhana, an online marketplace that works with restaurants, said more consumers will now be able to rely on e-catering service to buy their meals, rather than limiting their choice to licensed food suppliers. This can also become a scalable revenue stream for local as well as pan-India restaurant chains, he added.
Already, about 32-35 per cent of the revenues of some of the local restaurants (that have partnered with TravelKhana) come from serving train passengers, he pointed out.
Experts believe restaurant chains may also use this avenue for brand building as well as for product trials.
Unbundled servicesIn addition, IRCTC, which is at present not managing catering services for all train stations, will do so in a phased manner. These will be unbundled, categorising them into food preparation and food distribution.
IRCTC will also look to offer local cuisines. It is investing in setting up 10 additional sophisticated and mechanised kitchens.
In a bid to expand the services available at train stations, the Railways will also be replacing single purpose stalls with multiple purpose stalls that offer products like milk and OTC medicines.