The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) on December 13 began Proof-of-Concept trials that could transform onboard dining on the country’s flagship semi-high-speed trains. Under the new model, meal preparation is outsourced to well-known restaurant chains and flight-catering firms, while IRCTC staff handle service.
Partners include Haldiram’s for the Nagpur–Secunderabad Vande Bharat, Touch Stone Foundation for the Delhi–Sitamarhi Amrit Bharat, and CAFS for coastal Kerala services. The aim is to provide fresher, restaurant-quality food, improve hygiene, and offer regionally customised menus—a frequent complaint of frequent flyers who have shifted to rail for inter-city hops under 800 km.
![Indian Railways pilots branded-meal service on Vande Bharat and Amrit Bharat trains]()
If passenger-feedback scores exceed IRCTC benchmarks, the branded-meal concept will expand across the 80-train Vande Bharat network next year. For corporate travel planners, better meal reliability reduces the need for per-diem allowances and enhances the appeal of rail over short-haul flights—particularly on congested routes where airport queues erode time savings.
The trials also separate kitchen audits from onboard service, creating new compliance standards that food-service vendors must meet, including cold-chain requirements and last-mile temperature checks.
Companies moving assignees between tier-2 manufacturing clusters—such as Nagpur or Trivandrum—should monitor the pilot’s progress, as improved onboard experience could shift preferred-supplier agreements from airlines to rail for certain sectors.
Partners include Haldiram’s for the Nagpur–Secunderabad Vande Bharat, Touch Stone Foundation for the Delhi–Sitamarhi Amrit Bharat, and CAFS for coastal Kerala services. The aim is to provide fresher, restaurant-quality food, improve hygiene, and offer regionally customised menus—a frequent complaint of frequent flyers who have shifted to rail for inter-city hops under 800 km.
If passenger-feedback scores exceed IRCTC benchmarks, the branded-meal concept will expand across the 80-train Vande Bharat network next year. For corporate travel planners, better meal reliability reduces the need for per-diem allowances and enhances the appeal of rail over short-haul flights—particularly on congested routes where airport queues erode time savings.
The trials also separate kitchen audits from onboard service, creating new compliance standards that food-service vendors must meet, including cold-chain requirements and last-mile temperature checks.
Companies moving assignees between tier-2 manufacturing clusters—such as Nagpur or Trivandrum—should monitor the pilot’s progress, as improved onboard experience could shift preferred-supplier agreements from airlines to rail for certain sectors.
Source: Times of India
