IRCTC to restart e-catering services in phases from February

With the resumption of several long-distance and special trains, there was a growing demand to resume the services for supplying hot, healthy and hygienic food to the passengers in the trains by nominated vendors of IRCTC.

Indian Railways' catering arm – the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) on Friday announced that it has decided to restart e-catering services for passengers from the first week of February 2021, Indian Railways informed. The e-catering services were suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The IRCTC started this E-catering service in 2014 whereby passengers could order food of their choice from reputed brands as well as popular regional and local delicacies on phone or online while traveling on trains and get the same delivered to their seats at a railway station.

Earlier, a Railway official had informed that cooked food supply to passengers in trains under e-catering services, which were suspended as a measure to contain the spread of COVID-19, will resume soon in the Eastern Railway Zone. The e-catering services will be restarted soon at Howrah, Sealdah, Kolkata, Durgapur, Asansol, Malda and Bhagalpur stations under the jurisdiction of the ER, he said.

There are plans to add Barddhaman, Bolpur and Jamalpur in the list of stations from where the e-catering services are provided, the ER spokesperson said.

With the resumption of several long-distance and special trains, there was a growing demand to resume the services for supplying hot, healthy and hygienic food to the passengers in the trains by nominated vendors of IRCTC.