Diabetic passengers travelling in premium trains like Rajdhani and Shatabadi Express will now have the option to order sugar-free meals. The Railway Ministry has written to zonal railways asking them to ensure strict implementation of this provision to make train journey more pleasant and passenger friendly.
“The Railway Board has written letters to all Chief Commercial Managers of Zonal Railway on September 18 providing guideline regarding supply of sugar-free meals to diabetic passengers on demand,”
Railway Ministry sources told The Pioneer.The Railway had recently hiked the prices of meals served on Rajdhani, Shatabadi and Duranto Express; and it has asked the CCMs to “decide the diabetic menu within the prescribed catering charges notified for each service”.
Passenger fare, which also includes meal charges, for these set of trains has gone up in the range of Rs 25 and Rs 35 after the Railway Ministry decided to increase the cost of food that had not changed since 1999. The changes came into effect on October 17.
Railway officials claim provision to provide sugar-free tea and meals already existed, but the Ministry now wants that this should be implemented more strictly.
The Railway Board has also written to all CCMs to ensure that “complaint / suggestion book on catering must be available in pantry cars and be provided to passengers on demand”. The Ministry has observed that pantry car managers shall be responsible for this complaint book.
The direction came after it was brought to the notice of the railway ministry that staff of the pantry car refuse to provide complaint book to passengers when demanded. “It is reiterated that a suitable penal action should be taken against the licensee, who refuses to provide complaint book to passenger on demand,” reads the railway board’s letter to CCMs of Zonal railways.
A Catering Service Monitoring Cell has also been set up by the Railway Board with a toll free no. — 1800111321 — to redress complaints from travelling passengers on real-time basis.