IRCTC to set up Base Kitchens' in Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram in 6 months

Kochi: There is good news for rail commuters – they can enjoy quality food in trains and stations in the division soon. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) will set up its own ‘Base Kitchens’ in Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram in six months and have already identified sites. What hastened the process of setting up the modern kitchens was the unveiling of a new catering policy on Monday by the railways replacing the existing one introduced way back in 2010.

“We have identified two sites in Ernakulam and one at Thiruvananthapuram for setting up Base Kitchens, the construction of which is targeted to be completed in 150 days starting today. We will prepare a General Agreement Drawing (GAD) of the proposed kitchens in 21 days and submit it for the approval of the divisional and zonal railway authorities,” said a senior IRCTC official. The new catering policy provides for stopping pantry cars in trains and restricting hawkers. Instead food will be made available by setting up ‘Base Kitchens’ at major stations across the country.

“The ‘Base Kitchens’ will be similar to the services in airlines. The food will be prepared and packed in a highly hygienic environment and served directly to trains and station foodstalls. The plan was to start the initiative in trains like ‘Rajdhani’ and extend the services to others in a phased manner. The system is such that upon any complaint, accountability can be easily fixed,” the officer said. So far, there were wide complaints about the quality of food being served in trains (from pantry cars) and station stalls but there was no redressal.