The experience of meals served on trains by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has varied widely for passengers for many decades. While some have appreciated the food quality, others have questioned it, as well as the hygiene standards maintained on the rail.
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However, IRCTC seems to have turned over a new leaf with the meal service in the comparatively new Vande Bharat Sleeper Express trains. The hygiene standards being maintained have one passenger filming the on-board services, claiming that it is equivalent to a meal service on a flight. Watch the video.
Meal service on Vande Bharat Sleeper Express
Taking to Instagram on March 6, travel vlogger Aditya Yadav shared a video of the Vande Bharat Sleeper Express meal service, in which a railway employee in uniform was seen distributing meals within his compartment.
The person was in uniform, wearing a glove in one hand, a hairnet, and a mask. He was distributing sealed meal boxes from a large, blue, enclosed trolley he had likely brought along, which looked very clean, with no sign of wear and tear.
The compartment of the train itself looked neat and free from any littering, which is unfortunately a common eyesore in many trains. If the video is any indication, train journeys in the days to come are likely to be solely a positive experience.
Expansion of meal choices
Back in January, Indian Railways announced that the passengers would be served local cuisines on all Vande Bharat trains.
The pilot project began with six routes: Nagpur-Secunderabad, Sabarmati-Veraval, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra-Srinagar, Srinagar-Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra, Kasaragod-Thiruvananthapuram, and Mangaluru-Thiruvananthapuram. The project is supposed to culminate in full-fledged food reforms across the Indian Railways network, as per PTI.
The first Vande Bharat Sleeper Express, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was also part of the pilot programme. It runs between Howrah and Kamakhya and offers Bengali food on the up journey.
The menu includes ghee rice, basanti pulao, green peas pulao, and paratha, along with a selection of dals such as cholar dal, bhaja moong dal, and mixed dal. The non-veg options include Bengali chicken curry, murgh rogini, and murgir jhol.
During the down journey, the menu features jeera rice, jeera corn pula kismis pulao, and tehdar paratha, along with mixed dal and a choice of vegetable dishes like lesera aloo bhaji, bhendi aloo bhaji, and beans aloo bhaji. Non-vegetarian options include Assamese-style chicken masala and chicken curry.
Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only. This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.
