IRCTC to introduce POS devices to check overcharging of food in trains

With increased complaints from passengers about overcharging by vendors, the IRCTC has decided to introduce billing through Point of Sale (POS) devices on-board trains.

The POS hand-held devices are being introduced in a phased manner, beginning with 100 such machines getting introduced on 26 trains, an official statement by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) said.

At present, the Bengaluru-New Delhi Karnataka Express has been provided with a POS machine on pilot basis.

"This move will help not only making passengers aware of relevant information but also in improving the passenger satisfaction," according to the statement.

The complaints range from menu and tariff of meals to the catering items being sold on-board trains.

As per the plan, each rake of the train shall be provided with 2 POS machines each to start with and shall be progressively increased as per the usage and response from passengers, it said.

The IRCTC is also deploying its officials on-board these trains to monitor the catering services. They are being provided with tablets which will be used for collection of passenger feedbacks, it said.

The service providers managing the on-board services are also being trained at the IRCTC central kitchen at Noida for usage of the POS machine.