Railways starts e-catering at 2 TN stations

CHENNAI: 

  Pantry cars and food vendors at stations and trains may be a thing of the past as railways has introduced e-catering for all trains through which passengers will be able to order and have food delivered to their berths.

Named 'Food on Tracks' the facility will now be available at 45 stations, including Chennai Central and Madurai in Southern Railway. In a sign of things to come, travellers who are ready to pay premium price for quality food will be able to order muffins, burgers, sandwich, rotis and curries and other dishes and get them delivered to their seats. Three brands - Ratna Cafe, Dominos Pizza and Travel Food Services - have been roped in for Chennai. 

The facility was launched in September for trains that did not have pantry cars. The railways has now extended it to all trains that start at and pass through the selected stations. Passengers can order food online or from a call centre. 

A senior official said railways has already cut down on the use of pantry cars and are focusing on loading food at enroute stations for trains. "We have been trying to replace pantry cars so that more passenger coaches can be added to trains. The cost of running a pantry car is also high," he added. 

Tags: Catering  services in Chennai, Caterers in Chennai