Railways to penalize caterers who serve water tea

Kochi: For long,  commuters had  no choice but to bear with poor-quality food served in trains. Finally, the railways is all set to take action against the caterers on receiving complaints from passengers.

“We’re taking  focussed action rather than concentrating on the whole lot. First we will ensure that the tea being provided is of good quality. A lot of complaints are there about ‘water tea’ being served in trains,” said a senior officer of the Southern Railway.

A penalty of Rs 200 would be levied if the caterer is found serving low-quality tea. “People especially in this region are more particular about good tea and coffee being provided to them. We’ll conduct surprise checks too to ensure the quality,” said the official.

The measure is as part of the new catering policy which provides for provision of regional cuisines in long-distance trains, especially the premium ones. The new policy also lays special emphasis on cleanliness in pantry cars.

“The railways has  been focussing  on ways to improve the catering services in trains. Since the services have been leased out to private contractors, we’ll now recheck the agreements to see whether ‘desi’ bidders get the preference in trains starting from the state. The caterers will then be asked to provide rice and coconut-added curries in trains starting from various points in the state,” the officer said.