The railway had been getting complaints of many of these vendors overcharging passengers for the food item on board.
In a bid to eliminate the practice of overcharging by food vendors on trains, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has introduced QR code payment acceptance on trains. While the facility is presently available only on a select route, IRCTC will soon extend to other trains as well. The facility of catering is included in the fare of tickets on premium trains like Shatabdi, Tejas, Duronto and Rajadhani but on other trains with pantry cars, passengers have to pay for their food during the journey. In trains without pantry cars, IRCTC vendors supply food from their base kitchen.
The railway had been getting complaints of many of these vendors overcharging passengers for the food item on board. While the facility of card swipe payment was already available on board, passengers remained unresponsive to the idea and were left with the choice of only cash as a method of transaction. Now, with the introduction of QR card payment, it will be easier for railways to check any overcharging on food items.
The IRCTC QR code will be printed on the menu cards and the ID cards of the IRCTC vendors. Passengers can easily scan the QR code with UPI enabled app and make the payment of the due amount with their phone.
The QR code payment is presently available on Sampooran Kranti express trains.
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IRCTC last month signed a deal with Govinda’s Restaurant run by Iskcon Temple Delhi, to provide Saativ food on trains. The rollout of the plan began with Delhi’s Hazrat Nizamuddin station and soon will be extended to other stations as well. The menu comprises Sattvic dishes like deluxe thali, maharaja thali, vegetable biryani, vegetable dim sum, paneer dim sum, wok toss noodles, dal makhani, among other items
Passengers can place their orders at least two hours before the scheduled journey time with a valid PNR. They can either pay for the food online while placing fo the order or pay at the time of delivery.
