Craving for a pizza, but travelling on the train? No need to limit your menu options for train journeys.

In a bid to offer more freedom of choice, the Railways will now give the option of online ordering, as e-catering has been introduced across 108 select trains on an experimental basis.

Dominos on board

Consumers can log into the website of Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) at the time of the booking of the train tickets and pre-book their meal that will be delivered on these select trains. Also, the Railways plans to cover most stations to offer water vending machines for clean drinking water at low cost.

Dominos Pizza has become one of the first organised food services company to have come on board to serve its pizzas to consumers on select trains. Harneet Singh Rajpal, SVP (Marketing), Dominos Pizza, told BusinessLine , “We are doing a limited trial along on 19 trains and 12 stations. This is qualitatively a big opportunity and we are positive, but we cannot ascertain its quantum without a trial for consumer response and also logistical feasibility of delivering hot and tasty pizzas on train seats.”

Other food services companies believe this will provide a boost for the sector. Added Sahil Gilani, Director (Marketing & Sales), Gits Foods, said, “Using modern technology to give better meal options will not just enhance the food quality and overall experience in trains but also give a great boost to the food industry.”

Manish Rathi, CEO and co-founder, RailYatri.in, added, “The Ministry’s efforts to introduce additional food options through organised food chains will make travel more convenient and in line with global standards.”

In addition, the Delhi Division of the Railways is taking up a project for introducing on-board entertainment on select Shatabadi trains on license fee basis and depending on the response, will extend it to other Shatabadi trains. Just last month, entertainment company Eros had said that it has tied up with RailTel to launch its video streaming services ErosNow for train passengers. In addition, the Railways has roped in National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Delhi, to design bed linen as part of its programme to improve design, quality and cleanliness of bed linen within the next six months.

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