Rlys to open designer food outlets

An initiative of the Indian Railways, ‘Jan Ahar’ outlets at the stations will serve the delicacies round the clock.

The first of 50 such outlets to be set up in a phased manner across the country will come up at Howrah Station on November 20. All Jan Ahar eateries are being designed with a unique look having a colour combination of green and yellow. Besides yellow tables and green chairs, waiters will be smartly dressed in green and yellow designer T-shirts with same colour caps.

“The dress code, the colour scheme, the ambience including chairs and tables and even the logo of Jan Ahar are being specifically designed to provide a nice eating out experience for passengers,” said Passenger Services Committee chairman Derek O’brien.
The green and yellow colours have been chosen to give youthful and vibrant look to the outlet, he said.

The committee has taken the Jan Ahar initiative at the instance of Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee who had promised to provide good food to passengers at affordable prices. The Railways have decided to run Jan Ahar outlets through IRCTC. However, house keeping, cleaning and servicing will be outsourced and the IRCTC will have management, production and procurement responsibilities.

Though many fast food chains have opened their shops at railway stations, there were complaints about the absence of good food at reasonable rate for common passengers. After Howrah, three more Jan Ahar outlets will be opened at Bangalore, Chennai and Secunderabad this month followed by seven more at different stations including Patna, New Jalpaiguri, Lucknow and Mysore next month.
There will be a total of 50 outlets at important stations.