The much anticipated Railway Budget of 2016 might see Railway
Minister Suresh Prabhu offer more culinary options for passengers.
Speaking on the issue, a senior Railway Ministry
official said: “We want to give passengers a variety of choice in terms of
local food while traveling in trains and not limit them to the food available
in our pantry service. We want to shift our focus on to the local vendors
rather than going for big food chains.”
More focus is being put on tie-ups with local
vendors for offering a culinary choice to passengers, as part of an attempt to
bolster its e-catering business. Big brands of food chain companies like KFC,
Dominos and e-commerce companies like TravelKhana.com and food portal FoodPanda
have tied-up with Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation to provide
food on train.
In a pre-budget discussion, former Railway Board Chairman Arunendra
Kumar said: “I have seen a lot of queries from start-up companies that are
interested in developing a mobile application for e-catering. If I pass through
Rajasthan, why can’t I have Sarso Ka
Saag or Bajre Ki Roti at
the stations where train stops? Why should I take the same food that I always
have from the pantry?” He concluded that there are a lot of start-up companies
that can develop a mobile application for passengers to track the e-catering
facility.
The Railway Budget today will be the second one presented by Prabhu and
the third by the National Democratic Alliance government.
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