Now, book online for your railway food

The railway catering sector has been a subject of debate on the quality of food served

Each time Ajita Singh, aspiring to become a chartered accountant, travels from Delhi to her home town, Lucknow, she prefers to munch chips and biscuits rather than buy food on the train, being sceptical about the quality.

This time, though, she tried something different - placed an order online and the food was delivered to her, at her berth, for less than Rs 150.

The Rs 4,000-crore railway catering sector, a subject of debate on the quality of food served, is witnessing a change. Responding to the need are a couple of websites that have come up with a 'market place model for railway catering'.

Travelkhana.com and Merafoodchoice.com are among the leading players in this space. Both have a tie-up with over 200 restaurants spread across 100 cities, where they can serve meals for individuals or groups. The cost could vary starting at around Rs 130. All one has to do is provide the PNR number on the ticket or the originating and destination station, along with the date of travel. The websites will let you choose from multiple cuisines and prices. The delivery boy will have to buy a platform ticket to give you the food. Both these companies started with an investment of under Rs 1 crore and expect venture capitalist funding in the coming months.

"We are in a very advanced level of talks with the Railway Board for making us a recognised partner in rail catering," says Pushpinder Singh who started travelkhana.com in August 2012. He plans to soon start a mobile application.

"We serve about 500 meals in a day and reach 158 cities. People want quality food and affordable prices", says Piyush Kasliwal, a software professional who started merafoodchoice.com in November 2012. The websites usually get a cut of 15-30 per cent in the profits of the restaurant.

Pushpinder expects large fast-food chains to tie-up with him soon.

Currently, under the standard prices decided by the Railway Board, the caterers must serve a vegetarian meal at a maximum of Rs 50 and a non-vegetarian at 55. But, usually, charges go up to Rs 85 and above, according to railway officials. "Most of them overcharge as they say that in the current inflation, it's very difficult to provide food at the rates decided by the railways," says an official. In 2010, the catering of Indian Railways was taken away from Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation. Currently, a little over 30,000 catering units take care of food in the trains and at stations. Dinesh Trivedi, who was railway minister in early 2012, had announced he'd start a similar 'book a meal policy', where people could book a meal of their choice before boarding.

There have been success stories earlier, too. For instance, Comesum, a vendor for IRCTC, has about 20 outlets at railway stations and serves 70-80 trains but its reach is limited. It's here that the online model can perhaps fill the gaps.