In a major setback to the IRCTC, Railways have decided to strip the PSU of its catering responsibilities in Rajdhani, Duronto, Shatabdi and all other mail and express trains.
In a first, seat number 64 of coach B5 in the Kashi-Mahakal Express, that connects three Jyotirlingas in two states, had been turned into a mini-temple devoted to Lord Shiva.
Less than a month before assembly polls in Bihar, a Delhi court on Monday framed charges against Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi and their son and leader of opposition Tejashwi Yadav in the alleged IRCTC scam case.
Food to be cooked in base kitchens instead of trains; private players to be involved
Due to onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent unprecedented lockdown, e-catering services were suspended on March 22, 2020.
'You can never bring about a change if you only bring in outsiders. Consultants will never feel what changes are necessary and where,' says Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu.
On an annual basis, we'll seek out solutions to Indian Railways' most critical problems through 'innovation challenge': Suresh Prabhu
Initially the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee had considered giving the whole catering contract to Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation as cost-cutting measure but the proposal could not materialize as IRCTC made inordinate delays in responding, the OC said on Saturday.
In an attempt to standardise food served on trains across the country, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation has introduced a common recipe book to be used by all private caterers, dishing out snacks and meals to travellers. The IRCTC will work towards having menu cards installed on every coach of the train which will provide food details and call numbers in the event of any complaints or suggestions.
As part of efforts to revamp its services, the Indian Railways have decided to take over the catering charge of two prestigious trains from Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation.
The changes will take effect on March 28, with portfolio adjustments expected before the market closes on March 27.
Travel agents in the IRCTC service have been accused of blocking tickets to sell them at a premium.
With the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation pushing electronic booking of tickets and scores of online travel portals entering the business, the share of tickets sold online in the total ticket revenues of the railways has doubled to nearly 30 per cent this year.
The decision, if materialises, could be yet another setback for IRCTC, thanks to the new catering policy unveiled recently which stripped the Railway public sector unit of its catering responsibility that formed its core business.
In order to improve the occupancy of higher classes in trains, the railways now plan to introduce frequent travellers scheme.
The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation has tied up with the Bharat Petroleum Corporation and launched an e-ticketing initiative to help people book tickets at BPCL outlets.
After its forays into e-ticketing and hospitality, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation has tied up with travel major Cox & Kings for offering tour packages
Passengers have been long complaining of the IRCTC website crashing as soon as the booking commences in the morning.
The proposed construction of 100 railway budget hotels across India to meet the Commonwealth Games tourist rush has hit a road block with no clear signal as to which authority will execute them.
IRCTC and Yebhi's partnership was based on a revenue sharing model where Yebhi held inventory for IRCTC and shared about 2-10 per cent of the revenue.
The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation is planning to operate five more 'Bharat Darshan Village on Wheels' special tourist trains, Union Minister of state for Railway R Velu said on Monday.
What 81 million Indian netizens have been searching for on the web?
In addition, both will offer services jointly, subject to financial viability.
IRCTC will work on Kisan Yatra, a special travel scheme to help farmers to learn about new farming and marketing technique.
Cracking the whip, Railways have imposed heavy fines totalling Rs 11.5 lakh on nine caterers including Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation for serving "bad quality" food in trains.
Food aggregating platform Zomato, announced its collaboration with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) with its latest offering - 'Zomato - Food Delivery in Trains'. This collaboration aims to transform train journeys, enabling passengers to enjoy a variety of dishes from the comfort of their train seats. The service is currently live across 88 cities.
Saradha Group-run Saradha Tours and Travels tied up with IRCTC for operating tourist services to different destinations.
The catering supervisor of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited-managed canteen at New Maharashtra Sadan, who was force-fed by a Shiv Sena member of Parliament in a fit of rage, has claimed chapatis were forced into his mouth even though they knew his name and his religious sentiments were hurt.
Mittal and a cousin Abhishek Aggarwal set up Comesum, a multi-cuisine food cafe at Pune railway station. That was two years ago. Today they have expanded...
The 'Takht Express' would be launched on December 23 from Chandigarh. It would cover six sacred destinations for Sikhs, including Amritsar in nine days, Rakesh Tandon, managing director of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation said in Beijing.
Indian Railways on Monday tied up with SBI Card to launch a co-branded credit card and traveller loyalty card to tap the huge railway passengers market through bonanzas to customers each time they log on to Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corpora
Indian Railways to bring on board ready-to-eat food companies
IRCTC group general manager Virendra Singh (Western region) inaugurated the food stall in presence of divisional railway manager, Nagpur division of Central Railway, D K Sharma.
In fact, with the increasing penetration and use of the internet, IRCTC's ticketing revenue has seen an increase of 462 per cent over the past three years. From Rs 704.9 crore (Rs 7.04 billion) in 2006-07 and Rs 1,744.7 crore (Rs 17.44 billion) in 2007-08, the corporation got Rs 3,966.98 crore (Rs 39.66 billion) from sale of online tickets last year.
Cleanliness of stations will be rated as per certain parameters finalised by the Railways.
Lalu Prasad, in his tenure, had more than doubled the number of tatkal seats, and thereby had taken out the number of berths available under normal reservation. The additional tatkal seats that are thrown open for reservation at the last moment came at a premium of Rs 75-300 and earned more revenue for the Indian Railways. Some, however, allege that this reduced the chances for passengers to buy cheaper tickets in advance.
These organisations said their campaign will continue till the display of such certification on their products are banned.
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