Top Things You Must Know Before Ordering Your Food on Train Using E-Catering Apps
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) has been offering extensive passenger-friendly services, the major among all are e-catering services by IRCTC. Under the E-catering service, IRCTC delivers meals on trains ordered from the mobile app and websites to the passengers.
Passengers can order their meals directly while traveling by train from IRCTC partnered food companies that have teamed up with on-the-go restaurants. Food is served at the respective seat of the passengers.
E-Catering: An Innovative Initiative by IRCTC
When traveling on Indian Railways, food on trains was a big concern. Because of the inferior quality of food served by pantry cars and loads of complaints and reports, people discontinued ordering the food on trains from the pantry.
The source of food on Indian trains for the passengers was mostly by licensed or unlicensed food vendors at railway stations, pantry cars attached to trains and the food vendors that sell food on running trains. The good side of these meals was that they were accessible to all groups of passengers and were reasonably priced. But there are so many negative aspects:
- The choice of food is limited.
- The flavor and taste were dull and boring.
- The hygiene of food is often compromised while cooking or packaging the meals.
- Food is exposed to contaminants and flies.
Therefore, the majority of passengers tried other alternatives to have meals on trains. Travelers purchase long-lasting snack foods for trains such as biscuits, bakery items and packaged snacks like chips. Apart from all these, some carry the extra baggage of home-made foods to satisfy their hunger on the train. But these foods are prone to leakage and are not suitable for long train journeys.
IRCTC E-catering is an initiative taken by Indian railways to delight the journey of passengers by providing quality and tasty food on trains. E-catering has revolutionized the way food was savored on the train. Passengers can order online meals on trains from the authorized food partners and get the food delivery at their seat.
RailRestro is one such platform that works on the protocols of IRCTC e-catering service. It is a leading brand that has tie-ups with food vendors across India. Restaurants adhere to the norms of quality of taste and cleanliness of packaging, so that customers get freshly packed food, right at their seats.
Features of IRCTC E-catering App
In this era of modernization, a click on the smartphone can do wonders. Apps on smartphones have made life simpler and even better. This is the reason that the number of food in train apps have mushroomed in India. Some of the best IRCTC train food apps are RailRestro and RailMitra.
If you have the option to savor delicious and hot meals on trains, then you can say goodbye to last-minute worries of packing food for the train journey. Just order and enjoy the delicious food in train. If you are still in a dilemma while ordering food in train online, these points will help you out:
- Valid PNR number: You must have a valid PNR number to get food delivery in train.
- Simple to order: You can order meals on trains using the train food app and website. You can conveniently access the app from your phone or tablet to put orders on the go.
- Hygienic Food Options: Online IRCTC food orders are only delivered from restaurants authorized from FSSAI. So, only hygienic food is served on the train.
- Wider Menu Choices: Online train food ordering provides every passenger with a wider variety of menu choices.
- On-Seat Delivery Assurance: Food ordered is delivered on passengers’ seat at no extra delivery charges.
- Strict Quality Maintenance: IRCTC e-catering partners maintain stringent quality norms to ensure customer satisfaction. It includes proper packaging, hygienic cooking condition and great food taste.
- Transparent Food pricing: Local vendors on stations charge as per their choices. Ordering online food in train ensures price transparency and is also available at affordable prices. You can use coupon codes and discounts to cut your bill amount.
- Multiple Payments Options: You can pay using a debit card, credit card, net-banking, GooglePay, UPI, or opt for a ‘cash on delivery’ feature as per your convenience.
- Real-time feedback and complaints monitoring: Passengers can lodge complaints or give feedback through the mobile or web platform. They can check real-time feedback and complaint status online.
IRCTC E-catering Authorized Food Partners and Companies
The IRCTC e-catering services are of exemplary nature as they have well-known train food vendors, such as Domino’s, Subway, Haldiram’s, who are key players in the food and beverage industry worldwide. The food can be ordered instantly to treat the taste-buds of the travellers with a sumptuous experience and alleviate the cravings they feel during their journey.
Authorized IRCTC Catering Providers
These companies have been affiliated with IRCTC-E-catering for a long time:
- RailRestro,
- Comesum,
- Zoop,
- Relfood,
- Dewsis
- Yatri
The IRCTC catering app delivers the food at the passengers’ seats on the pan-India basis. The key partners like Domino’s for Italian cuisines, Subway for fast food and snacks, and Haldiram’s for traditional pure vegetarian delicacies need no introduction.
It has successful alliances with all major food partners who are key players in maintaining IRCTC’s reputation. Catering the train passengers with hygiene and quality are the basic parameters that are adhered to by all partners. The ones who comply with these criteria are licensed with food certification. At any hour during the ride, the order can be placed. Besides, when you search through the app, all available food items will be shown on your phone.
The two aggregators, Travelkhana and Rail Yatri, are no longer affiliated with IRCTC e-catering. Alliance with these aggregators has been cancelled.
RailRestro: IRCTC Food Ordering App
RailRestro, an authorised IRCTC partner, is a reputed and leading ‘food in trains’ service provider. It caters across more than 450 stations and in more than 7000 trains as of now, and still, the number is growing. This app is certainly a blessing for all regular passengers who do not like the fixed menu on trains or simply want to try something new.
The train food app serves the travellers in the train with umpteen choices of meals. Its automated platform tracks train in real-time across India to ensure on-time food delivery on trains. It has gained popularity due to its service to thousands of passengers on a daily basis.
It aims to deliver passengers with high quality and fresh snacks, beverages and a range of cuisines on the train seat that could be in budgetary constraints of the consumer. RailRestro partners with more than 2000 restaurants that are certified by FSSAI. These restaurants vendors comply with strict food quality and hygiene protocols.
With the RailRestro train food booking app, you can customise your train food menu online as per your preference, collect food at your train seat, and make a choice to pay online or cash on delivery. You can also get exclusive discounts with RailRestro train food vouchers at checkout.
It is a unique all-in-one app with a wide array of features that include checking PNR status, live train running status, train schedule and other train-related services.
So many features in one app help passengers with just one click!
Order Food in Train through RailRestro
- Visit RailRestro website or download the train food app from Google Play Store.
- Enter the PNR number in the required box.
- Explore the list of restaurants and food available en-route.
- Select the restaurant and food you desire to order.
- Add the food in the cart.
- Proceed to the payment page and pay your bill amount by debit cards, credit cards, internet banking, Paytm, PayUMoney, Freecharge wallets or Pay cash on delivery (COD) as per your convenience.
- The ordered food will be served to your berth at the mentioned station.
- Enjoy the delicious meal on wheels!
RailRestro Food Coupons and Promo Codes
RailRestro also offers coupon codes, cashback and discounts for the passengers to slash the total bill of food order. Whether it’s a group food order, Jain food or pure veg food in trains; every order has a special coupon code that offers you the best discount values ever. The app also presents festive special promo codes to use while ordering food in train via RailRestro app or website. Some RailRestro Coupons codes are:
- Use code ‘GROUP20’: This code is available for group food order. It provides 20% off on food orders above INR 2000.
- Use code ‘JAIN10’: One can use Coupon code “JAIN10” to get flat 10% off on minimum order of INR 300.
RailRestro App Information
App Name: RailRestro – Order Food in Train
App Size: 324k
Current Version: 1.1.3
Requires Android: 4.0 and up
Passengers can soothe their hunger pangs with South Indian, North Indian, Chinese, Continental, Italian, Jain thali, light snacks, vegetarian or non-vegetarian and many other delicacies offered by IRCTC food order app.
About the Author
Bibhuranjan Editorial Officer, technofaq.org I'm an avid tech enthusiast at heart. I like to mug up on new and exciting developments on science and tech and have a deep love for PC gaming. Other hobbies include writing blog posts, music and DIY projects.
