Indian Railways will resume its e-catering services from February 1, said Indian Railways in a tweet on Friday. Earlier IRCTC, the railways’ catering arm, had in a statement had also said that IRCTC will resume its e-catering services from next month, without mentioning any date. The order comes after Railway Board has permitted IRCTC to resume e-catering services at a selected number of stations, reported a news agency.

The Ministry of Railways took to twitter to inform about resumption of e-catering services, it wrote, "Indian Railways to resume e-catering services from 1st February. This will further enhance travel experience and passenger convenience as they can enjoy their favourite & fresh food during train journeys."

Earlier, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, e-catering services were suspended on March 22, 2020.  

As agency reports, Initially services will be started in around 30 railway stations catering to approximately 250 trains.

IRCTC had started this unique service in the year 2014 whereby passengers could order an array of food of their choice from reputed brands as well as popular regional and local delicacies on phone or online while travelling on trains and get the same delivered to their seats at the railway station.

During the pre-COVID period, IRCTC had started clocking 20,000 e-catering orders per day.

With the permission from the Railways Ministry coming in, IRCTC is ready to resume the e-catering services in a phased manner from February, the statement said.

“IRCTC is ensuring that all its e-catering partners ensure proper health and hygiene protocols while serving the meals to the passengers,” it said.

Meanwhile, Indian Railways also said that passengers can download IRCTC e-catering app ‘Food On Track’ from the various app stores and avail e-catering services.

IRCTC e-catering services could be also availed through ecatering.irctc.co.in or through telephone by 1323.

(With inputs from agencies)