'IRCTC To Mandatorily Display Food Menus And Rates': Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw mandated the display of the menu and rate list of food items being served to passengers on trains. 

Vaishnaw mandates food menu and rate list on train

"Menu of all food items along with rates are available on IRCTC's website for information of passengers. Printed menu cards with all details are made available with waiters and presented to passengers on demand," he told Lok Sabha on March 12.

"The rate list is also displayed in pantry cars. Further, to make the passengers aware of the menu and tariff of catering services over Indian Railways, SMS to passengers with link to menu and tariff has been started," the Minister added.

This comes after several complaint posts went viral on social media about the food served on trains. 

Responding to the question regarding measures taken to improve hygiene, cleanliness, and quality of food in trains, the Railway Minister said among important steps taken are supply of meals from designated base kitchens, commissioning of modern base kitchens at identified locations and installation of CCTV cameras in base kitchens for better monitoring of food preparation.

Vaishnaw also revealed that shortlisting and use of popular and branded raw materials, like cooking oil, atta, rice, pulses, masala items, paneer, dairy products, etc. for food production and deployment of food safety supervisors at base kitchens to monitor food safety and hygienic practices have already been done.

Furthermore, on-board IRCTC supervisors are also deployed in trains and QR codes on food packets, enabling the display of details like the name of the kitchen, date of packaging, etc. have been introduced, as claimed by the Minister.

He also mentioned regular deep cleaning and periodical pest control in base kitchens and pantry cars, mandatory Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) certification from designated food safety officers of each catering unit and regular food sampling as a part of the inspection and monitoring mechanism to ensure good quality of train food is being done.

"A third party audit is done to examine hygiene and quality of food in pantry cars and base kitchens. Customer satisfaction surveys are also conducted," he added.

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