No more cooking fresh food in pantry cars of long-distance trains, passengers unhappy with IRCTC

PUNE Really do not be surprised the future time you are travelling by a extended-distance teach if the food served does not sense fresh new due to the fact the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Company (IRCTC) has stopped cooking food items within the pantry coaches of these trains because final week. The motive cited by the IRCTC is cylinder blasts and consequent burning of coaches. Hereon, the IRCTC will prepare dinner foodstuff in its mobile kitchen on platform variety 1 of Pune railway station and company virtually 300 foods each day to 15 trains. Aside from meals, other foods items this sort of as breakfast, snacks, packed and preserved food stuff merchandise and h2o bottles, as well, will be offered from the IRCTC cell kitchen.

A senior IRCTC formal of the Pune division on issue of anonymity said, “The selection was taken by the IRCTC superior-amount committee last 7 days and as per the guidelines provided, we have now totally stopped cooking meals in pantry vehicles. The gasoline cylinders have been eradicated from the coaches and meals is getting cooked round-the-clock as for every the timings of the trains by way of our mobile kitchen area here at the Pune railway station.”

Earlier, passengers would get freshly-cooked foods inside pantry cars on extended-distance trains but now the procedure has adjusted fully. The cylinders have been taken out from pantry cars and trucks and foodstuff is remaining cooked from the base ‘cell kitchen’ on platform amount 1 of Pune railway station from exactly where it is taken to the pantry cars and trucks. At the moment in the Pune division, around 300 food packets, each veg and non-veg, are being sent every day to 16 very long-distance trains.

Questioned how food items will be served in Pune’s prestigious Deccan Queen convey prepare that has its individual dining car, the official explained, “Currently, all cooked breakfast merchandise this kind of as vegetable cutlets, bread omelet, tea and coffee are cooked here at the station and then despatched into the educate. Whereas immediately after the new coaches appear on June 22 for the Deccan Queen teach, there will be an electrical induction program the place at the very least breakfast merchandise can be cooked.”

Meanwhile, passengers are unsatisfied with this selection of the IRCTC. Harsha Shah, president of the Railway Pravasi Team, explained, “The purpose given by the railways for eradicating the cylinders from the pantry cars is entirely baseless. In my 60 a long time of travelling by the railways throughout the country, I have by no means read of any incident where pantry cars have caught fire. What’s more, the meals which is cooked several hours ahead of will not stay in superior quality when it is served to passengers on extensive-length trains.”

An additional passenger Shailesh Kshirsagar who frequently travels to Delhi for his perform claimed, “When I journey in extended-length trains, it is predicted to get very well cooked food in the educate even though travelling. Now if we are receiving foods which is cooked hours in advance of we consume and our health and fitness deteriorates, who is to blame for it?”