IRCTC - the catering and tourism arm of the Indian Railways - is set to resume serving meals on all trains by February 14. As the Covid-19 cases appears to be decreasing across the country, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has decided to resume serving cooked meals aboard all trains, the Railways said. However, Covid-19 safety guidelines and protocols will be adhered to by the IRCTC employees. The decision has come as a welcome relief for long-distance travelers - this decision would allow them to now have fresh meals during their journey.
The Railways had discontinued catering services on trains as part of safety measures adopted by the national transporter in view of the pandemic. The measures were in place from March 2020. IRCTC has gradually restored the services.
News agency ANI quoted a communication from the Indian Railways as saying that meal services had been restored on 80 percent of trains by January this year. The remaining 20 percent of trains will start offering the meal services by February 14, it added.
In December last year, meal services had been restored on premium trains like Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto.
A few, who have travelled in trains already offering the revamped service, shared their experience on social media.
Another traveller thanked the Railways for the improved services. The user said he was travelling from Varanasi to New Delhi. “One thing is to say that the service, behaviour are top notch. In fact, I'm so glad to see that. And the food quality is so good and hygienic too. Thank You,” he said.
The Indian Railways have been striving to improve its services and passenger comfort for some time.