Local cuisine to be available in more trains, says Railway Minister Vaishnaw

Railway Minister Vaishnaw announces plans for trains to offer local cuisines based on region, starting with Southern Railways.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday said more trains will have local cuisines depending on the region they are passing through and that an important experiment in this regard has been started under the Southern Railways.

The Minister's response was to queries from DMK member Sumathy Thamizhachi Thangapandian, who requested that South Indian cuisine should also be available on Vande Bharat trains running in Tamil Nadu.

Ms. Thangapandianan also mentioned that pantry workers are predominantly speaking Hindi which is making it difficult for the passengers to communicate about their needs.

During the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha, Mr. Vaishnaw said the railways has done an important experiment in Southern Railways to make sure that local cuisine is served to the passengers.

"More and more trains will be getting local cuisine. That programme will be for the entire country, whichever train is passing through one particular region, railways is now trying to get the delightful experience of that cuisine for the passengers whether it is in eastern, western, north or south side.... That is a continuous improvement process we are taking up," the Minister said.