Thiruvananthapuram: Railways on Wednesday started switching to traditional cooking methods in the state to overcome commercial LPG shortage caused by the US-Israel war against Iran. IRCTC’s base kitchens and catering units in the state started using firewood to prepare meals, including for Vande Bharat trains. Sources said the move was to prevent disruption in food supply on trains.The shortage of commercial cylinders had started to affect kitchens at major railway stations where food was prepared for supply on trains. On Wednesday food was cooked using traditional method and loaded on trains that travelled long distances and was later reheated in the pantry car. Railway kitchens, especially the one in Kochi, prepared a variety of meals for the two Vande Bharat trains. More than 1,500 packets of food are supplied on each of these premium trains every day. A railway official said, “We started using firewood as a contingency measure. It is important to prevent a disruption in food supply to Vande Bharat trains since people cannot buy food from the station vendors due to automatic doors.” There were reports that IRCTC may have to temporarily suspend food supply if the LPG supply situation did not improve. However, the railway officials said they were working to ensure that food was also available at restaurants and stalls at railway stations.
