No more cooking fresh food in pantry cars of long-distance trains, passengers unhappy with IRCTC
3 min readPUNE Do not be astonished the upcoming time you are travelling by a extended-length prepare if the foodstuff served does not sense contemporary simply because the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Company (IRCTC) has stopped cooking meals inside of the pantry coaches of these trains considering the fact that very last 7 days. The cause cited by the IRCTC is cylinder blasts and consequent burning of coaches. Hereon, the IRCTC will cook food stuff in its cell kitchen area on platform number 1 of Pune railway station and service virtually 300 foods every day to 15 trains. Aside from foods, other foods items these as breakfast, snacks, packed and preserved foods objects and h2o bottles, far too, will be furnished from the IRCTC cell kitchen area.
A senior IRCTC formal of the Pune division on condition of anonymity mentioned, “The choice was taken by the IRCTC significant-amount committee final week and as per the instructions offered, we have now entirely stopped cooking food in pantry cars. The gasoline cylinders have been eliminated from the coaches and food items is staying cooked round-the-clock as for every the timings of the trains by way of our cell kitchen area listed here at the Pune railway station.”
Previously, travellers would get freshly-cooked food stuff inside pantry cars and trucks on long-distance trains but now the procedure has transformed entirely. The cylinders have been removed from pantry automobiles and meals is being cooked from the foundation ‘cell kitchen’ on system variety 1 of Pune railway station from exactly where it is taken to the pantry automobiles. Presently in the Pune division, all around 300 meal packets, each veg and non-veg, are being sent daily to 16 extensive-distance trains.
Requested how foodstuff will be served in Pune’s prestigious Deccan Queen convey practice that has its possess eating car, the official stated, “Currently, all cooked breakfast merchandise these kinds of as vegetable cutlets, bread omelet, tea and coffee are cooked right here at the station and then despatched into the educate. Whereas following the new coaches come on June 22 for the Deccan Queen practice, there will be an electric powered induction system where at least breakfast products can be cooked.”
In the meantime, travellers are disappointed with this conclusion of the IRCTC. Harsha Shah, president of the Railway Pravasi Team, claimed, “The rationale specified by the railways for eliminating the cylinders from the pantry cars and trucks is entirely baseless. In my 60 decades of travelling by the railways across the nation, I have by no means heard of any incident exactly where pantry automobiles have caught hearth. Also, the food stuff which is cooked several hours in advance of will not continue being in good excellent when it is served to passengers on very long-distance trains.”
An additional passenger Shailesh Kshirsagar who often travels to Delhi for his work explained, “When I journey in lengthy-distance trains, it is anticipated to get very well cooked meals in the practice though travelling. Now if we are finding meals which is cooked hours ahead of we eat and our wellness deteriorates, who is to blame for it?”