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Restaurant on Wheels: Scrap coaches at various U.P. railway stations to be turned into restaurants & cafes
Coaches to represent Gorakhnath temple in Gorakhpur and Naimisharanya in Sidhauli. Those in Gomti Nagar and Agra cantt to serve traditional cuisines.
Giving a double delight to the food connoisseurs of Uttar Pradesh, Indian Railways (IR) has planned to convert rail coaches at various stations in the state into a restaurant or cafes where people can dine amidst the backdrop of trains.
As a part of a non-fare revenue opportunity in U.P, IR is giving its condemned coaches on lease to private players for a period of 3 to 5 years who can turn them into fine dining restaurants or cafes.
While two such coach restaurants are already running in NER’s Izzatnagar (Bareilly) and Banaras, several stations of the state such as Charbagh, Gomti Nagar, Sidhauli (Sitapur), Gorakhpur, Varanasi City, Varanasi Junction, Agra Cantt, and Jhansi will come up with such coach restaurant or café in one-two months.
Coaches to reflect local culture
These coaches will be placed outside the station premises. The food and the makeover will reflect the local culture.
Riyaz Rashid Khan, one of the lessees of three such upcoming coach restaurants in Gomti Nagar, Gorakhpur, and Sidhauli (Sitapur) said, “The work is in full swing and two coaches will be completed within two months. Gomti Nagar and Gorakhpur will have one coach each, and Sidhhauli will have two coaches.”
Khan, who also owns one such business in Rewa station in M.P, said that the coach restaurant at Gomti Nagar station would serve Awadhi cusine. The makeover would also reflect Awadhi culture and will include non-veg food.
“While Gorakhpur coach restaurant will be a representation of Gorakhnath temple. Sidhauli will have representation of Naimisharanya. Gorakhpur will serve only vegetarian food. One among two coaches in Sidhauli will also serve vegetarian food,” he added.
Open air rail museum with dine-in coach at Agra Cantt
Agra Cantt station of North Central Railway (NCR) has gone beyond and is not just opening a coach restaurant on its premises but is also constructing an open-air railway museum in a 20,000 sq. feet area.
Prashasti Srivastava, divisional commercial manager of Agra railway division said, “The project has been given to Hilton group on lease for five years. While the coach will serve food to people and commuters, the museum in the open air (rail heritage park) will have vintage equipment which are obsolete now such as old signals, old tickets, and old level crossing gates among others. We’re collecting such vintage items from all across U.P.”
She said that the project will help railways earn ₹85 Lakhs in five years.
Petha legacy to Kareem kebab – the traditional cuisines
In Agra, two coaches will be set up in a phased manner for separate veg and non-veg food. One coach would accommodate 36 people at a time.
“The rail heritage park cum food on wheels at Agra Cantt will serve various forms of hygienic and herbal petha. Similarly, Agra’s famous chat will also be served, said Deepak Sharma, the lessee of the project.
“We also plan to introduce Agra’s Kareem Kebab which was served to Queen Victoria but has been forgotten over time,” he added.
He said that a common information centre would also be set up for tourists where they can access all the information about the city.
‘Restaurant on wheels’ in Bareilly
While the works are undergoing in these places, food lovers and bloggers have already started thronging to the ‘restaurant on wheels’ at Jhumka City Bareilly which was inaugurated last week.
“The coach near the parking lot transformed into a restaurant mounted on rails is divided into four parts with two cabins, a kitchen and a small party hall forming its interior, “ said Abhay Kamar, station superintendent, Izzatnagar railway station.
“The restaurant will be a fine dining place with 24-hours service offering a unique experience to the travelling passengers,” he said
