Railways Allow E-Catering Services At Select Stations
Shail Shukla
New Delhi, January 15, 2021: The nationwide lockdown had halted the train services. Although as the conditions improved, train services were started slowly. However, the facilities available within the train have been reduced.
Considering the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health, cooking in trains, blankets, pillows, and sheets provided by the railways in AC coaches were prohibited. Now Indian Railways has permitted to resume e-catering services in trains.
Food delivery will be allowed in trains at selected stations across the country. However, services will be resumed as per the local authorities’ operational instructions. The announcement came after a letter written by Rail Restro CEO and founder Manish Chandra to the Ministry of Railways and IRCTC to allow e-catering services on trains.
RailRestro, an e-catering service authorized by IRCTC, has received confirmation from the Ministry of Railways and is set to operate from the last week of January 2021.
The company has issued strict guidelines for operating kitchens in restaurants. According to the guidelines, restaurant staff and delivery personnel’s thermal scanning at various times, cleaning the kitchen regularly, using protective face masks or face shields by restaurant staff and delivery personnel will be necessary. The restaurants have also been strictly advised to prepare food only when the body temperature is below 99 degrees F.
Guidelines for delivery staff are also well laid out. Taking orders only after hand washing, mandatory use of ‘Arogya Setu’ app by delivery personnel, contactless delivery to ensure zero human contact, frequent use of protective face masks or covers, and sanitizing delivery bags after delivery are the mandatory practices.
