Railways scraps service charge on food items not opted on booking

New Delhi: The Indian Railways recently removed onboard service charges on all meals and beverages that are not pre-ordered on premium trains. However, the Rs. 50/- charge has been added to the prices of snacks, and meals (lunches and dinners).

An official order of July, 15, mentioned, In Rajdhani/ Duronto/ Shatabdi the price of tea and coffee will be the same for all passengers, who have pre-booked it or ordered those on the train, and they will see no increase in the rates- they will be Rs 35/- for 1AC/ EC, whereas for 2AC/3AC/CC will be Rs. 20/-.

However, the price of meals will be Rs. 245/-, Rs. 295/-, Rs. 185/- and Rs. 235/- respectively for the above-mentioned classes, which will be Rs. 50/- costlier than the erstwhile price, Rs. 195/-, Rs. 245/-, Rs. 135/- and Rs. 185/- of Rajdhani/ Shatabdi. While the new cost of meals in Duronto Express will be Rs. 120/- and Rs. 170/- for 2AC and 3AC respectively.

Under the previous norm of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), if the person has not booked their meals along with their train ticket, they had to pay an additional Rs. 50/- while ordering food during the journey, even if it is just a Rs. 20/- cup of tea or coffee.

Now, passengers on board premium trains like Rajdhani, Duronto or Shatabdi who have not pre-booked their meals, will pay Rs. 20/- for tea (similar to the amount paid by those who pre-booked their meals). Earlier, the cost of such non-pre-booked tea was Rs. 70/-, including the service charge.

"The removal of the service charge will only reflect in the prices of tea and coffee. Here, the passenger who has not pre-booked will pay the same amount as a passenger who has booked it. However, for all other meals, the service charge amount has been added to the cost of meals for non-booked facilities," a rail official clarified.

However, on Vande Bharat trains, passengers who have not booked the on-board services have to spend the same amount for breakfast/lunch or dinner/evening snacks as they did when they were charged service charges, with the increase showing in the cost of the food instead of the charges.

In Tejas trains the meals will cost now Rs. 244/-, Rs. 294/-, Rs. 222/- and Rs. 272/- for respective classes (1AC/EC, 2AC/3AC/CC). In Vande Bharat, the price of tea and coffee for all passengers, who have pre-booked or ordered will be Rs. 15/-. Whereas, the meal will cost Rs. 244/-, Rs. 294/-, Rs. 222/- and Rs. 272/-, like Tejas.

The order further includes, "Service-wise menu will remain the same the same as already notified for the respective Pre-paid trains." Adding, "Electronic invoice will be generated clearly reflecting the tax details and seat no/PNR no./mobile no."