Hyderabad, September 21: In order to improve the quality of food served on trains and platforms, the Indian Railways has taken over catering services from the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC), said Derek O’Brien, chairman of the Passenger Services Committee.
The ministry’s Catering Policy 2010, which has come into force recently, strips the IRCTC of the responsibility of serving food on long-distance trains following complaints on its quality.
“Railways have been receiving too many complaints from passengers about the poor quality of food. The minister asked us to study the passengers’ problems and make recommendations without bowing to any pressure,” O’Brien added.
Brien, who was in the city to review passenger amenities and services, said the committee’s recommendations to the Railway Board focused on four areas – food quality, service, cleanliness and value.
The new system would be experimented on one train in each zone and it would be the ‘AP Express’ in the state, he said.
To provide food to passengers at subsidised rates, the Railways had launched special outlets called ‘Jan Ahar’ in stations across the country, including two in the SCR. Forty more outlets would be added in a phased manner. Food prices at the Jan Ahar outlets would range between `5 and `35. Designed with a colour combination of yellow and green, each outlet would seat a few dozen people.
‘Seva Vahan’ (carts) were being arranged for the disabled free of cost. A new category of helpers to carry passengers’ luggage on trolleys had been recommended. Elderly people could be employed for the purpose, O’Brien said.
The on-board housing keeping facility for long-distance trains would be extended from 270 to 350 trains soon.
Stating that the panel would also look into cleanliness of trains, he said the Hyderabad-Secunderabad Zone was cleaner than others though there was room for further improvement.
For the convenience of individual customers, the 8 am to 9 am slot had been reserved for them for internet ticket booking. Bulk purchases would not be allowed on the internet during the period.
He said that six out of 10 tickets were sold on the internet.
The other recommendations include setting up of a single window for lodging complaints or buying tickets. Instead of different phone numbers for different regions to lodge complaints, the committee had recommended a single number (81212) across India, O’Brien said.
–Agencies