There’s nothing like a train journey during the monsoons through acres of lush greenery with sightings of waterfall, accompanied by chit-chat over food. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has revised the prices of its onboard food services. Keeping in mind that their menu may not be affordable to all, the Western Railway board has introduced economic meals and packaged drinking water for passengers travelling in the general second class, which was announced in a statement released by Shri Sumit Thakur, the chief public relations officer of the Western Railway on Wednesday.
The Western Railway zone, which includes Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and parts of Madhya Pradesh, will provide two types of meals to its passengers. The type one meal, priced at ₹20, consists of seven pooris with a dry aloo sabzi and pickle, while the type two meal, which costs ₹50, enables passengers to choose between rice and rajma, chole and bhature, or pav bhaji, along with packaged water for ₹3. The dishes will be provided by the IRCTC with counters selling the food stationed at platforms near the general second coaches “on an experimental basis of six months.”
In the past few years, the corporation introduced a variety of meals for passengers during their train journey. For example, in 2022, the IRCTC launched an initiative which allowed passengers on pre-paid coaches to enjoy regional foods including millet-based local products and local delicacies like dhokla or vada pav.
A Press Trust of India (PTI) story pointed out that the IRCTC launched e-catering services via WhatsApp in February, allowing passengers to easily order food from their favourite restaurants to the train. In Bihar, the corporation announced it would only serve vegetarian food items on the trains during the holy month of Shravan, reported by a Livemint story published on 2 July.
