Big move by IRCTC: Indian Railways scraps ‘service charge’ on food items, know revised meal charges

The Union Railways Ministry has issued an important notice regarding food orders inside trains run by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), such as the Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, or Vande Bharat trains.

Now, ordering your morning tea on these trains will not cost Rs 70, as it did before. The Centre has decided to scrap the service charges on food items ordered during the train journey, even if you have not pre-booked your meals with your tickets.

Earlier, many travellers were left angered and surprised that the IRCTC was charging upwards of Rs 70 when it came to ordering tea or coffee during the train journey. This means that the Indian Railways was charging Rs 50 service charge for a tea that cost Rs 20.

According to the revised meal rates in the IRCTC, breakfast, lunch, and dinner will cost Rs 50 more if ordered during the journey and not pre-booked with the tickets, while the charges for morning tea will remain the same for all passengers.

In a circular issued by IRCTC, the Indian Railway has specified that food ordered on the Vande Bharat express, Rajdhani, Shatabdi, or Duronto will not have any additional service charge. The food rates mentioned include the GST rate, meaning there will be no additional charges.

According to the previous norm of the IRCTC, if the person has not booked their meal along with their train ticket, they had to pay an additional Rs 50 while ordering food during the journey, even if it’s just a Rs 20 cup of tea or coffee.

Now, IRCTC has scrapped these service charges for the morning and evening tea. Further, the Railway board has said that the charges for all food items will be the same for both the categories of passengers if any pre-paid train is running late.