Railway passengers to get bill for ordering foods

To check railway pantry car staff collecting exorbitant charges from passenger for food items they sold on board train, the government on Wednesday decided to introduce billing system through hand-held machines.

As a pilot project, first such Point of Sale (POS) machine will be introduced in Karnataka Express which runs daily from Bengaluru to New Delhi. Upon success of this system, it will be introduced in all the trains in phases, said a statement from the Railways.

The Indian Railway Catering and Touring Corporation (IRCTC), which is now managing the catering of trains, has also decided to post its own staffers on board of trains to monitor the catering services of pantry cars. The IRCTC will also provide tablets (Tabs) to its on board staff to collect passengers feedback on catering services, said the statement.

Though providing bill to passengers who ordered food from pantry car is mandatory, none of the food suppliers adhered to it, said an official in the Railways adding that the new system will help to check overcharging complaints.