- By Kamakshi Bishnoi
- Mon, 15 Sep 2025 04:18 PM (IST)
- Source:Jagran News Network
The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has launched a special service allowing regular express trains to offer the facility to book meals along with tickets along with premium trains such as the Rajdhani, Shatabdi, and Vande Bharat. Following the success of a pilot project, this facility has been introduced on 20 trains.
With preparations underway to make the service available on other express trains with pantry car facilities in a phased manner, the facility aims to eliminate complaints regarding overcharging, non-issuance of bills, and the sale of food by unauthorised vendors. Under the initiative, IRTC has launched the e-pantry service with an aim to provide better quality food to passengers.
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A pilot project for this was launched in June on the Dibrugarh-Kanyakumari Vivek Express. Following its positive results, it has been introduced on 20 other trains with pantry car facilities. The Railway authority has further aimed to launch the initiative on 100 more trains and subsequently on other trains in a phased manner.
Under the initiative, passengers can pre-book meals when booking tickets on the IRCTC website. This option is also available in the ticket booking history, allowing them to book meals and water (Rail Neer) online at a later time. No additional charge will be levied on passengers for this.
After the payment of the desired amount set by IRCTC for the particular meal, passengers will get a confirmation SMS with details and an email with a Meal Verification Code (MVC). To get the meal delivered, the passenger must share the MVC number with the pantry car staff during their journey.
Officials state that as payments are entirely digital, the problem of overcharging will be eliminated. Only IRCTC-licensed staff deliver the meals, which ensures hygiene and safety.
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Orders are digitally monitored for compliance, billing, and service quality. If a meal is not received for any reason, the passenger will be refunded. Updates will be shared via SMS, email, or WhatsApp.
E-pantry service launched trains departing from Delhi, includes:
- New Delhi-Chennai Grand Trunk Express (12615/12616)
- Hazrat Nizamuddin-Pune Darshan Express (12493/12494)
- New Delhi-Visakhapatnam AP Express (20805/20806)
- New Delhi-Howrah Purva Express (12303-04/12381-82)
- Puri-Rishikesh Kalinga Utkal Express (18477/18478)
- Hazrat Nizamuddin-Goa Vasco da Gama Express (12779/12780)
- Bandra-Amritsar Paschim Express (12925/12926)
- New Delhi-Jaynagar Swatantrata Senani Express (12561/12562)
- Anand Vihar Terminal-Hatia Swarnajayanti Express (12817/12818)
- Amritsar Kochuveli Superfast Express (12483/12484)
- Korba-Amritsar Chhattisgarh Express (18237/18238)
- Hazrat Nizamuddin-Yesvantpur Karnataka Sampark Kranti Express (12649/12650 and 12629/12630)
- Hazrat Nizamuddin-Ernakulam Mangaladweep Express (12617/12618)