IRCTC may not fall off the track despite Shiv Sena's bitter pill

"I like the menu. It has a sweet dish," says a customer

The food served by Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) found perhaps its worst critique when Member of Parliament Anandrao Adsul compared the controversy surrounding its quality to the Godhra killing of 2002. However, the 15-year-old organisation has been known for serving "quality" food at affordable rates in the corridors of power.

Its parent, Indian Railways, has traditionally been accorded a place of pride, from the British days, when it came to serving food. "Looking at the quality of service of the railways in the Prime Minister's Office and Parliament, many government departments wanted the railways to serve them food," said Shanti Narain, former member (traffic), Railway Board.

Narain was involved with the creation of IRCTC when Nitish Kumar was railway minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government. IRCTC now serves food in scores of ministries, high courts, Delhi University and at various other state bodies, such as Bhilai Steel Plant.

A dozen multinational companies in Noida and Greater Noida take the food prepared at the IRCTC's central kitchen there. The kitchen has the capacity to produce about 12,000 meals a day. IRCTC's clients include Samsung, HCL Technologies, Supertech, Tata McGraw-Hill, Jaipuria Institute, Lava International and Ameriprise Financial.

The railways' journey with food has not been without glitches. Mamata Banerjee, who had briefly held the railways portfolio in the Vajpayee government, took catering in trains away from IRCTC when she was minister in the earlier UPA government. Since then, catering in trains is managed by various contractors selected by the Railway Board.

For 2012-13, about 40 per cent of IRCTC's total income comes from the catering business, of which six per cent came from licensee catering, where services are outsourced to a third party for running the cafeteria. Maharashtra Sadan was under a licensee arrangement. A majority of the catering income still comes from serving food at a little over 100 food plazas at railway stations across the country.

Officials said Banerjee's decision came after she wanted to further lower the prices of food in trains while IRCTC insisted on raising the price to ensure quality. The food that it offers is available for Rs 35 a plate at the Supertech office in Noida. "I like the menu as it has a variety of items in it, including the sweet dish. However, the quality and taste is not that good, although they have been trying to improve it for the past few months," said a Supertech staffer.

IRCTC officials argue one can't expect superior quality at Rs 30-40 a plate. The catering contracts are usually for more than a year; while inflation raises prices, IRCTC continues to charge at rates decided earlier, especially at the ministries and government offices, compromising on the quality, said an official on condition of anonymity.

IRCTC also has mechanisms like a toll-free number, email and web services to redress complaints.

Narain said the purpose for which IRCTC was created was to improve quality and standardise procedures like in airlines. Food was intended to be cooked at base kitchens along the rail network and not in the train kitchens, and certainly not served beside railway toilets.

For now, Narain said the railways or IRCTC brand would not suffer because of the incident. The corporation has constituted a three-member inquiry to probe the Maharashtra Sadan incident.