Indian Railways and IRCTC have started inspecting the quality and quantity of eatables and drinks served to passengers on the long-distance trains and at the food stalls in railway stations. The first such inspection this year, that began from June 14, comes after an order from the Railway Board to initiate checks and balances on the food sold on all long-distance trains.
Sources in the railways revealed that in the last two months, they received several complaints about the quality of food served as well as overcharging by the vendors. “So, we ordered a 15-day drive inside long-distance trains. We will extend it to the static units in railway stations from June 24,” said a senior railway official.
Western Railway has formed a 20-member team to inspect pantry cars and vendors inside its 60 plus trains. These include prominent trains like the Rajdhani, Vande Bharat, Shatabdi and Tejas.
Confirming it, a senior Western Railway official said that during the intensive drive, the team checks the quality and quantity of meals served to passengers, the availability of Railneer and other mandated services to be provided by the vendors deployed in pantry cars and train-side vending.
“Onboard catering services of 101 trains have been checked and based on the findings, punitive actions will be taken against the erring licensees. Further actions were taken to counsel serving staff on cleanliness and hygiene, maintenance of equipment, restriction on sale of unapproved packaged drinking water and other PAD items,” the official said.
He added that the pantry staff were also educated on safe working in the running train, especially on the risk of a fire and the measures to be taken in case of such an eventuality.
All in all, the railway inspectors are monitoring six broad areas of deficiencies in service inside trains and at railway stations and creating a data bank. This includes the mandatory display of menu cards inside trains and the availability of tea cups with the capacity for at least 150 ml.
It is a continuous endeavour of Indian Railways (IR) to provide good quality food as per notified quantity and prescribed norms and standards by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Major initiatives undertaken to improve the quality of food being served to the passengers of trains including Rajdhani trains are as under:
- Upgradation of Base Kitchen/Kitchen Units undertaken.
- Installation of CCTV Cameras in Base Kitchens /Kitchen Units for real time monitoring of food preparation at source.
- Deployment of on board Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) supervisors in Rajdhani trains.
- QR codes have been introduced on food packets enabling display of details like name of kitchen, date of packaging, expiry date, weight, etc.
- Third Party Audit is done to examine hygiene and cleanliness in Pantry Cars and Kitchen Units. Customer satisfaction survey is also conducted.
- To ensure compliance of FSSAI guidelines, certification from Designated Food Safety Officers of each catering unit has been made mandatory.
- Food Safety Supervisors have been deployed at Kitchen Units to monitor food safety and hygienic practices.
- Regular and surprise inspections are conducted by Railway/ IRCTC officials including Food Safety Officers.
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