Indian Railways introduces SMS-based menu access to passengers | Check out all details

Indian Railways provides affordable food options on long-distance trains with in-house catering. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav has introduced SMS facilities with menu and fare links, ensuring transparency for passengers.

Indian Railways is the largest railway network in the world. Millions of people travel by train every day. In India, everything from regular passenger trains to high-speed luxury trains like Vande Bharat are operated. Many of these trains have in-house catering (pantry cars) where food is provided to passengers at affordable prices.

Train Food Menu

Especially all trains going to long distances have catering facilities. In this situation, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav has said that SMS facility with menu and fare link has been started to inform the passengers about the food list and catering service charges in Indian Railways, as the food list is shown with price in pantry cars. 

"All food menus and fares are available on the IRCTC website for the information of train passengers. Printed menu cards with all the details are made available to the staff and provided to the passengers as required," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav replied to a question raised in the Lok Sabha.

Indian Railways

Speaking about the menu card, price list of food items and the measures taken to improve hygiene, cleanliness and quality of food in trains, Vaishnav said that quality food supply from kitchens, operating modern base kitchens in identified places and installing CCTV cameras in kitchens to better monitor food preparation are among the important measures taken.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav

''The use of popular and branded raw materials such as cooking oil, rice, pulses, spices, paneer, milk products, etc., and their quality are monitored by food safety supervisors,'' the Railway Minister said. He also said that IRCTC supervisors have been appointed in trains and QR codes have been introduced on food packets.

''Third party audit is done to examine the hygiene and quality of food in pantry cars and pantry cars. Customer satisfaction surveys are also conducted. Indian Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI) certification has been made mandatory from the designated food safety officers of each catering division,'' said Ashwini Vaishnav.