Howrah-Dehradun Express runs for 36 hours, yet it doesn’t have the facility, which is considered uneconomical
Will the Howrah-Dehradun Express get a pantry car?
This simple question is a point of hot debate in Rail Bhawan, headquarters of the Railways, underscoring the intricacies in providing the facility on a long-distance train, especially when the catering policy is set to be overhauled.
An answer remains elusive, but the travel time of the train justifies the demand: the train, running for 36 hours, tops the others in travel time.
Bengalis make for good tourists, most enjoying a vacation at least once a year. The point is whether they need some special treatment or not.
On the other hand, only a dozen pantry cars are made every year, and the choice is between a pantry car and a sleeper coach, because a locomotive can haul only a 24-coach rake. The Railways seems to prefer a sleeper coach to a pantry car.
Rajdhani and Duronto and other superfast trains, with fewer stoppages, are run with pantry cars.
The refrain among officials is that high-end passengers travelling in air-conditioned coaches usually buy meals from the pantry car.
Only 200-250 meal packets are getting sold, as most of the sleeper-class passengers carry their own meals. And it is not economical to run pantry cars for the benefit of just 250 passengers, and it is sensible to run a sleeper-class coach that can take in 72 passengers.
At present, 302 trains have pantry cars, and 1,000 long-distance trains need to be fitted with one.
The need for pantry cars will increase sharply when the new catering policy is implemented in May.
The policy will requite contractors to set up base kitchens to serve healthy and hygienic food to passengers.
Food helpline
The activation of a food helpline has helped. The Railways have received 150 complaints, and 125 were settled instantly. Several contractors were penalised. The helpline has sent out a message to the contractors that they can no longer take passengers for granted and they are under constant watch.
Officials hopeful
Officials reckon that things will improve after technically sound services are put in place under the new regime. Most of the old caterers will be replaced with new caterers who will have to meet stringent conditions and hire trained staff.
Keywords: Howrah-Dehradun Express, pantry car, Railways, pantry coaches, Doon Express
I don't think we can point out a single place in India which is kept clean & hygienic, not just the railways..People are not really bothered..Don't know when will this change; will it ever!!
One more issue to be highlighted here is about the quality of food
served by the Indian Railways. Many a times I fall sick after consuming
the food served in the trains. The pantry is located close to the
washrooms which really is not a hygienic place at all. Is clean and
hygienic food too much to ask for in a society like ours where the
health of the common people is continuously at stake?
May be its better to let people trust their own source for food in trains. Even in the prestigious(!) trains like shatabdi, the waiters wear uniforms which are not washed for long and each time they pass in the aisle, there is bad odour. I have personally complained to the F&B supervisor many times and see not much progress in this. One should only go near the pantry after the food plates are collected and emptied to decide whether to eat or not in the train the next time they travel. Fortunately they use a lot of disposable containers. The spoons are just dumped in the sink and poured hot water over (with out any soap) and then taken and wiped with a stinking towel for use later in the next trip. After watching this a few times i have given up eating Shatabdi food although there is no option to not to avail the train food while doing reservations! We have long way to go in achieving even minimum hygiene standards in the public transport.
Dear author and The Hindu thanks for such an article.
Other than Howrah express and Doon express there might me some other
such trains that ply for distances more than 1000 km yet they don't
have pantry car facility causing great inconvenience to customers.
Making them depend on unauthorized hawkers, who at times sell whatever
they want and at whatever price they wish.
One such another train is 12947/12948 Azimabad Express traveling
distance of running km from Patna-Ahmedabad it doesn't have pantry
car causing inconvenience for the people who depend on pantry car for
food.
Railway officials and IRCTC must come up with a list of the trains
that don't have pantry car and traveling for more than 1000 km. And
must take necessary step helping the passengers travel safely and
conveniently.
I had the misfortune once to walk through the pantry car of Parasuram
Express (Trivandrum-Mangalore). It was unbelievable - completely
infested with roaches & rats. When I took up the matter with the Ticket
Inspector on board, he expressed helplessness..! Fortunately I do not
have to depend on Indian Railways for my travel, but my sympathies are
certainly with those who have no other choice.
Indial railways concentrates on only how we can extact more money from passengers rather than providing facilities...
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