Title - Long distance trains to have hygienic food

JAIPUR: There is good news for those who were earlier served bad and stale food during their long distance train journey. The North Western Railway (NWR) have asked various food caterers and pantry in-charge of long distance trains to mention the date and time of packaging of food and also the best before period. In some of the long distance trains the caterers have already started serving food mentioning its manufacturing date and the best before tag. Not only that, the teams of various divisions of NWR will also conduct 'surprise checks' on the trains to check the food quality. To start with the facility has been started in the Jaipur-Delhi Double Decker train and very soon trains to Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Secunderabad too will have such checks. "We have developed a system in which in most cases food served in various trains would be cooked, packed and served on the same date of journey when the passenger is boarding the train. We are aiming at providing fresh food. Various contactors have been told to mention the date and time of manufacturing, contents and quantity on the food packets served as breakfast, lunch and dinner in various trains," said Tarun Jain, chief public relations officer, NWR on Sunday.

He said that caterers serving food in Jaipur-Delhi Double Decker have already started it and the same facility would be seen in other long distance trains. Officials said that this facility will not let the caterers pack and serve stale or old food. and would certainly provide hygienic food to the passengers. "We had had received complaints in the past of stale food and there was also confrontation of passengers with the train crew on this issue. Serving unhygienic midday meals led took a toll in many districts and states recently. Thus, we have decided that NWR is not going to take chances when it comes to the safety and health of the passengers," said a senior officer of Jaipur division of NWR. Official sources said that trains including Jodhpur-Howrah, Jaipur-Mumbai Duronto, Jaipur-Mumbai Superfast and Ashram Express will also have this facility soon. Asked how the officials will keep a tab on the quality the officer said, "We will conduct surprise checks and if the quality of the food is not be as per the standards, initially the contractor would be penalized. If he repeats the mistake then action would be taken as per his contract with the Railways".