The finger-licking Amritsari kulche, chhole and Amritsari lassi would soon be on the menu for passengers en route Delhi-Amritsar trains. To make the journey more pleasant for the passengers, the Railways have announced this unique facility of ordering regional cuisine via SMS or e-mail while on the move.
The initiative, which is the first-of-its-kind in the Indian Railways, was announced in the 2014 Rail Budget by Union Rail Minister DV Sadananda Gowda on Tuesday. The pilot project has been proposed on two busy rail corridors — Delhi to Amritsar and Delhi to Jammu Tawi. To bring about a perceptible improvement in catering services, the Minister proposed a quality assurance mechanism through a third party audit by National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies.
A system of collecting feedback through IVRS mechanism from the travelling passengers on the quality of food served will be launched shortly, he said. “If the service is not up to the standard set, especially in the hygiene and the taste, severe action would be initiated against the vendors including cancellation of contract,” he said.
As per plan, the passengers onboard can place their orders using the specially-designed smartphone app. On reaching the station, the desired food will be served to the passengers. Officials said the Indian Railways would set up food courts at major stations on its network to provide the option of ordering regional cuisine while onboard. Once successful, the model will be implemented on other rail corridors.
A pilot project will be started shortly between New Delhi-Amritsar and New Delhi-Jammu Tawi sections.