On the menu: pre-cooked meals in trains, food courts at stations - Livemint

Railway minister Sadananda Gowda says the railways for the first time will allow third-party vendors to provide pre-cooked meals on board. Photo: Pradeep Gaur/Mint

Mumbai: Train passengers will be able to order meals from food courts at stations and buy pre-cooked, ready-to-eat food from approved third-party vendors on board, railway minister Sadananda Gowda said on Tuesday as he sought to address a long-standing public grievance over food quality and hygiene at Indian Railways.

Indian Railways runs 12,617 trains every day, carrying more than 23 million passengers across more than 7,172 stations spread across the subcontinent, Gowda said while presenting his maiden railway budget. But complaints over the quality of food available on most trains as well as at stations have dogged the railways for decades.

Gowda said for the first time the railways will allow third-party vendors to provide pre-cooked meals.

Additionally, food courts will be set up at major railway stations that will cater to onboard consumers, who will be able to place their orders through the Internet, smartphones and text messages. The service will be piloted shortly in two sections, New Delhi-Amritsar and New Delhi-Jammu Tawi.

The plan could benefit major packaged food companies as well as quick service restaurant chains that are a common sight at airports.

“It’s a massive opportunity and win-win-win for all—government, companies and consumers,” said Arvind Singhal, chairman, Technopak Advisors Pvt. Ltd.

Nearly 30% of the total income of airports comes from food sales, he said, adding that passenger traffic at railway stations is more than at airports.

At present the only places where one can grab a bite at most railway stations are canteens operated by the state-run Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp. Ltd (IRCTC) and a few private food outlets.

“The new proposal is merely formalizing its food and catering policy by announcing food courts at stations and regional cuisine while on board,” said Abhaya Agarwal, partner-infrastructure practice, at consultancy EY.

Agarwal, who is also the leader for public-private partnership at EY, said there are no market estimates for the size of the food and catering business at railways. According to him, arriving passengers get around 30 minutes to pick up food packets or eat at stations.

“This is a huge opportunity and we are very upbeat as we have an expertise in travel destinations,” said Sharad Sachdeva, chief operating officer, LiteBite Foods Pvt. Ltd, which operates food courts at Mumbai Metro stations and runs quick service restaurant chains such as Punjab Grill and SubWay .

Sachdeva said that unlike the airports where his company has a large presence, railways will require it to tailor its products to the masses by focusing on volumes, as prices will have to be relatively low. “We can’t sell sandwiches here at Rs.120; we will have to have pricing of Rs.30.”

The railway budget also stressed quality and included plans for independent audits as it looked at privatizing food services. “This will enable passengers to avail food with the same quality of airlines,” said Agarwal.

Sahil Gilani , director-sales and marketing, Gits Food Products, said, “Introducing ready-to-eat meals in Indian Railways is a very encouraging step. Making these meals available to the passengers will help build awareness and acceptability of these products in the Indian mindset.

“It will propel the complete category. Not only will this step ensure better quality and hygiene to the end-consumer but also reduce food wastage. We hope the government makes the supply-chain process simpler and cleaner for reputed brands to come on broad.”