After food row, talks on adding pantry car to Vande Bharat Sleeper

A high-level meeting was recently held in Mumbai to address issues flagged during the inaugural run, with catering emerging as a major concern, officials said

Mumbai: Days after complaints over food quality on the first Howrah–Kamakhya Vande Bharat Sleeper service, railway officials are considering adding a pantry car to the premium overnight train to ensure better food quality.

After food row, talks on adding pantry car to Vande Bharat Sleeper

A high-level meeting was recently held in Mumbai to address issues flagged during the inaugural run, with catering emerging as a major concern, officials said.

Currently, the train lacks a pantry car. Therefore, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) provides food through pre-packed gourmet meals transported via cold chain and heated in hot cases installed in select coaches.

However, officials said the available hot plates are inadequate to heat meals to the desired temperature, and not all coaches have them. This has reportedly resulted in complaints of cold or stale food.

“Passengers expect warm food which is not possible. There is a need for a Pantry Car in this train,” said a rail official.

The 16-coach train, built for overnight travel, offers 823 berths across AC 3-tier, AC 2-tier and First Class AC coaches.