The Indian Railway, which has been avoiding privatisation, now likes the franchise system. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd is planning to hand over its food plaza chain at the railway stations to franchisees.
The arrangement may be started by the end of the current month. Catering arrangements at the stations and on trains were entrusted to IRCTC two years ago. Today, the Railway is making the arrangements on its own.
Contractors to supply food on trains and at stalls in the railway stations run under the watch of the Railways have been appointed. Once again, the responsibility for the catering arrangement has been handed over to IRCTC with an aim to restart the arrangement at a grand level in which the passengers would get high quality service and domestic and foreign famous dishes under one roof.
Under these arrangements the IRCTC is going to start a food plaza and food unit in the form of a restaurant. For this, the stations have been divided into five categories A-1, A, B, C and D. The A-1 category stations may run a food plaza while the others would run a fast food unit. Gwalior has been placed in A-1 category and Morena in A category.
A food plaza is going to open on Gwalior station while Morena will have a fast food unit.The food plaza at Gwalior station would be set up on the first floor near the retiring room.
PRO Jhansi division Ravi Prakash said that the IRCTC food plaza and IRCTC fast food unit would be run under watch of IRCTC which would be like any high-end restaurant. Under this arrangement, the railway would have no control except on the quality of food items. The company taking the franchise would be free to fix the price of the food items.
