In an attempt to serve quality and hot food to the passengers on the train, Indian Railways is planning to shut down its base kitchens and start operating cluster kitchens. This would give the passengers different options by ordering food through various cloud kitchens. The railways will no longer be responsible for the quality of the food.

Currently, the responsibility of serving food and beverages rests with the Indian Railway Catering And Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), which is responsible for the railway’s catering services. Under the current system, the IRCTC purchases raw materials from the market and then prepares the food in its base kitchen. This entire process is licensed to a private contractor. 

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These base kitchens will now be closed, and cluster kitchens will be opened in their place. According to railway spokesperson Dilip Kumar, quoted by Jagran.com, the food service providers overlook the meal preparation process in dedicated cluster kitchens under the supervision of railway officials to maintain hygiene standards. This change will also affect the on-board pantry car, which used to prepare piping hot food on the train itself earlier. 

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How Can Passengers Order Food From These Cloud Kitchens?

  • Passengers can order the food directly through the Rail One app.

  • Third-party applications like Zomato can also be used to book these meals.

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Why Is Railways Undertaking This Step?

A railway official stated that this step is being taken to improve the quality of food on trains and stations. He further said that if the entire chain from purchasing food and drinks to preparing it in the kitchen is unified, then the complaints can be cut down to a large extent. 

The official said that under the current system, the complaints and blame game linger on, causing significant inconvenience to passengers. He also explained that cloud kitchens are an option for passengers so that they do not rely solely on rail catering.