The How’s And Why’s Of Online Khana Order
The process of online khana order is at its peak these days. Passengers are happy. They have widely accepted IRCTC’s intelligent initiative to deliver food at the train seat. This way, travelers need not worry about their meals. They need not depend on train’s pantry cars either, as most of them are found to be unhygienic and hardly bothered about travelers’ nutrition and food choices.
How to order?
The official website of IRCTC (Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation) is www.irctc.co.in. You can log on to the site and enter its e-catering section. Another way is to order through an app in your smartphone. Or you could send a message to 139 by typing MEAL <PNR number> <seat number> through your cell phone. Another way is to call a toll free number. You will be connected to an executive who will take your order.
How is it done?
IRCTC has tied up with various popular food names to provide food to passengers in trains. This gives you a lot of choice. You can choose the vendor, choose the food menu, and choose to pay in cash at the time of food delivery or pay through plastic money online.
The concept of e-catering gives greater control to passengers. Moreover, issues of overcharging by pantry car staff, unhygienic food, and same old food menus can be addressed through this initiative.
Passengers must place an order two hours in advance of their train reaching the particular station where the food vendor is located. This gives the vendor ample time to prepare a hearty meal for you. As soon as the train reaches the station, your meal is ready; it reaches your seat – fresh and hot.
You can also cancel the food order. Again, do this two hours in advance. You will be refunded after deducting the bank charges.
Gone are the days when you needed to prepare food at home in a rush and carry it along your entire journey. You also need not gorge on the unhygienic, oily food sold at local stalls. Now, you have a healthy choice – pick your food vendor, pick your favorite food, order online, get your food at your seat.
New ways of serving food
As per the new catering policy that came into force on February 27, 2017, IRCTC has been empowered to look after base kitchens, Automatic Vending Machines, and delivery of food through vendors. Base kitchens would be of three types: mini, normal, and mega. This depends on the flood of meal orders.
Mega base kitchens, which are supposed to be created in the Southern zone of railways, may consume an area of 5000 square feet. They would be capacitated to prepare over 15,000 meals a day. A normal kitchen can prepare up to 10,000 meals a day.
IRCTC will see to it that the kitchens are clean and equipped with all the necessary tools, machines, raw material, and manpower required to meeting the daily meal requirement. The plan is to take the help of IT industry to keep track on each step of food preparation from procuring of raw materials to distribution of cooked meals. This is to maintain high standards in catering services.
As per the Rail Budget 2016-17, Zonal Railways will also provide baby food under the e-catering scheme. It includes hot milk and hot water. Currently, you can get kids’ menu through online khana order in trains that pass through New Delhi, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Lucknow Junction, Lucknow, Ajmer, Jaipur, Chennai Egmore, and Howrah stations.
E-catering is all set to bring a sweeping change in the way passengers eat food in train and the way food is served to passengers.
How to order?
The official website of IRCTC (Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation) is www.irctc.co.in. You can log on to the site and enter its e-catering section. Another way is to order through an app in your smartphone. Or you could send a message to 139 by typing MEAL <PNR number> <seat number> through your cell phone. Another way is to call a toll free number. You will be connected to an executive who will take your order.
How is it done?
IRCTC has tied up with various popular food names to provide food to passengers in trains. This gives you a lot of choice. You can choose the vendor, choose the food menu, and choose to pay in cash at the time of food delivery or pay through plastic money online.
The concept of e-catering gives greater control to passengers. Moreover, issues of overcharging by pantry car staff, unhygienic food, and same old food menus can be addressed through this initiative.
Passengers must place an order two hours in advance of their train reaching the particular station where the food vendor is located. This gives the vendor ample time to prepare a hearty meal for you. As soon as the train reaches the station, your meal is ready; it reaches your seat – fresh and hot.
You can also cancel the food order. Again, do this two hours in advance. You will be refunded after deducting the bank charges.
Gone are the days when you needed to prepare food at home in a rush and carry it along your entire journey. You also need not gorge on the unhygienic, oily food sold at local stalls. Now, you have a healthy choice – pick your food vendor, pick your favorite food, order online, get your food at your seat.
New ways of serving food
As per the new catering policy that came into force on February 27, 2017, IRCTC has been empowered to look after base kitchens, Automatic Vending Machines, and delivery of food through vendors. Base kitchens would be of three types: mini, normal, and mega. This depends on the flood of meal orders.
Mega base kitchens, which are supposed to be created in the Southern zone of railways, may consume an area of 5000 square feet. They would be capacitated to prepare over 15,000 meals a day. A normal kitchen can prepare up to 10,000 meals a day.
IRCTC will see to it that the kitchens are clean and equipped with all the necessary tools, machines, raw material, and manpower required to meeting the daily meal requirement. The plan is to take the help of IT industry to keep track on each step of food preparation from procuring of raw materials to distribution of cooked meals. This is to maintain high standards in catering services.
As per the Rail Budget 2016-17, Zonal Railways will also provide baby food under the e-catering scheme. It includes hot milk and hot water. Currently, you can get kids’ menu through online khana order in trains that pass through New Delhi, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Lucknow Junction, Lucknow, Ajmer, Jaipur, Chennai Egmore, and Howrah stations.
E-catering is all set to bring a sweeping change in the way passengers eat food in train and the way food is served to passengers.
Post a Comment