Train meals by IRCTC to reflect new changes with boneless chicken, reduced quantity, and many more

After complaints regarding the food quality being served at trains under IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation), the officials have decided to opt for quality over quantity. The new changes to the meal would reflect a decreased amount that is way better in quality. This means that the facilities would include combo meals instead of the extensive full course food preparations.

As stated by the IRCTC authorities, the quantity of daal being served can go down from 150 grams per serving to 100 or 120 grams. Instead of chicken with bones, people can opt to dine on boneless chicken with gravy. The meal shall also include dry vegetables. Earlier, IRCTC used to provide 900 grams of meal which wasn’t of apt quality leading to several complaints. The current idea involves bringing down the amount to 700 grams which has been designed keeping in mind the fact that an average diet of Indians is close to 750 grams per meal.

The railway board has received IRCTC’s proposal for this idea. The logic behind this change is the fact that given the rising cost for raw material, it is almost impossible to provide quality food at cheaper price tag. IRCTC is also to remove the breadsticks and soups from the menu. However, this move might not gel well with the passengers. Combo meals being offered in Aircrafts shall be provided to the passengers who opt for journey to short distance which include the Shatabdi Express.

In an effort to promote World Environment Day, Indian Railways have started bringing in the bio-degradable containers into the scenarios starting from the trains that include Shatabdi and Rajdhani Express trains. Also coming into the scenario is AI (Artificial Intelligence) to ensure quality and real-time tracking for the kitchens. IRCTC has used WOBOT which are HD cameras inside kitchens to monitor all activities and presence of anomalies that include insects or cockroaches.

A report by the CAG suggested that the food served over the train is actually unfit to be consumed by humans. Following this report, the changes by IRCTC have been put on place. However, implementation of the same is the key as reduced quantity might not be welcomed by the IRCTC passengers. Indian Railway needs to keep this fact in mind and go ahead with the plan to provide quality food to the passengers.