Undercooked food caused a commotion on the Duronto Express last July
The default menu
Most of the passengers opt for the default menu that the Indian Railways provides. Those not convinced by the quality prefer to bring their own tiffin for the journey. Due to inadequate and unskilled chefs, lack of resources, hygiene problems, and mismanagement, food in the Indian railways has often received poor reviews.
The watery dal and paper-like chapattis make the passengers feel they have been shortchanged. Undercooked meat may even cause Anthrax, a serious and infectious disease. Snacks are better in comparison to the main course, especially when it comes to Rajdhani’s Potato Cutlet.
Passengers: empowered but laidback
Earlier, passengers were helpless, because their complaints against the repulsive food rarely stirred a response from the authorities. Now with the social media in the picture, Indian Railways have a reputation and several stakes to consider. Moreover, passengers have a flurry of choices now. They can choose an online food ordering service or tweet Railway Minister Piyush Goyal to have the caterer replaced.
Still, the passengers choose to go with the risky food items that can make them sick. There’s a probable reason for the same. Getting on a train is quite exhausting and the last thing a passenger wants to do is deal with the indecorous services offered by the railways. This is where TravelKhana and RK Associates come in.
Enter TravelKhana
TravelKhana has revolutionized railway catering. The founder, Pushpinder Singh explains, “We are working on the quality system of our network, more specifically on a virtual QSR (quick service restaurants) system, which will help us get a better view of the overall process for restaurants in our marketplace.”
A huge menu available at TravelKhana
Passengers book orders from TravelKhana in advance from their app or website. They can choose from a wide menu provided by renowned restaurants proximate to a selection of train stops on the way. When the train reaches the stop, a TravelKhana representative delivers the food to the passenger. It’s just like Swiggy, Food Panda, or Zomato, but for trains.
The only drawback is that the customer is moving. In case there is a mess-up of orders, it’s the customer who will have to travel with an empty tummy.
Rajeev Mittal’s RK Associates: catering Industry experts
This company can adequately serve a private train with an experience of over 50 years. The crux of good food is sufficient and sterilized infrastructure. The utensils and machines are sanitized daily and the cooks wear clean and disinfected uniforms, complete with face masks and head coverings.
As private contractors, RK Associates are trying to give the customers/passengers, a personalized and private treatment. Hence, this company has over 450 food items being served around the clock at reasonable rates.
Food being prepared at RK Associates’ kitchen with necessary precautions
The chairman, Rajeev Mittal, recently stated that his company is working to expand to more than 200 stations across India, in association with Indian Railways Catering & Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC). The only thing that may limit RK Associates is the lack of variety in the daily menu since the food items are prepared in advance.
Live streaming
In June, Piyush Goyal said, “I have asked for CCTV cameras in all the base kitchens and want the footage made public. Passengers can go to the IRCTC website and watch the live stream. We will develop an app so that passengers can keep an eye on the kitchen while travelling.”
There’s a lot happening in the railways catering sphere. Hopefully, there will also be changes in the time management and the overall infrastructure of the world’s fourth largest rail transport network.
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