After numerous complaints from passengers regarding the quality of food served in long-distance trains, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has decided to replace the base kitchen with a cloud kitchen. It will began with Mumbai.
The process of launching cloud kitchens run by professionals and caterers has already started. There are at least 200 kitchens in IRCTC's western region, which includes the states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
“In Mumbai, cloud kitchens will be launched at Powai, Kurla, Panvel, Thane and Chembur, out of which, the cloud kitchen at Kurla is currently launched. As of now, 90 such cloud kitchens are still in operation. 50 of them are operational. We intend to build 200 kitchens in the next three months,” a senior IRCTC official said.
Located on LBS Road, Kurla has the largest cloud kitchen, which caters for breakfast, lunch and dinner with a capacity of 4,000. Private operators running kitchens will be responsible for delivering food from cold storage vans to pantry cars on long-distance trains, sources said.
The cloud kitchens will be operated by different caterers on a seven-year contract. They will be equipped with state-of-the-art equipment for production and distribution and will be monitored by CCTV. Also cleanliness and hygiene will be closely monitored. Most importantly, Indian Railways will not depend on one location for food production. For example, base kitchens in Mumbai, which prepare 8,000 to 12,000 meals per day, are located at CSMT and Mumbai Central stations.
Over the years, Indian Railways has been manufacturing thousands of food plates for long-distance trains including premium trains like Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Tejas Express. More recently, the base kitchen was also serving food to Vande Bharat trains.
Sources said a fine of INR 5,000 to INR 5 lakh (in November 2023) has been announced by introducing a live streaming mechanism. There are also demands of passengers to cancel the contracts of those who fail to maintain cleanliness even after preparing food in the train. Also, IRCTC was receiving an average of 300 to 350 complaints every month from passengers. About 10 to 12 of these complaints were of serious nature like finding cockroaches, insects in food.
“During my trip from Mangalore to Mumbai in June, I found the food served was somewhat stale. I have not only complained but also posted on social media,” said Kamalakar Shenoy, an activist and resident of Mazgaon.
However, the caterers said, "Railways must consider the cost margin while fixing the menu rates. Otherwise, the quality of the food is bound to be compromised. The price must be close to the market rates. There are many passengers who use e-catering, branded They order food at higher prices from outlets.”
Meanwhile, IRCTC said that they are getting positive response after launching Cloud Kitchen. The percentage of complaints has come down to 70 to 80 per month. There are only one or two serious complaints. IRCTC officials said the total number of catering complaints was close to 12,000 between April 2021 and March 2024, during which they also issued show cause notices.
IRCTC Cloud Kitchens in Western Region
Total Cloud Kitchen: 200
Cloud kitchens that are almost ready: 90
Operational Cloud Kitchen: 50
Number of trains serving daily: 500
Daily Meal Capacity Prepared by Cloud Kitchen: 1,000-4,000
Food quality complaints per month: 300-350
Complaints per month since launch of Cloud Kitchen: 70-80
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