Hospitality & Public Health - A Case Study of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC)

Abstract

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) started in 27th September, 1999, is a subsidiary of the Indian Railways that handles the catering, tourism and online ticketing operations of the railways. In 2010, Catering services provided by IRCTC were handed over to Indian railways (except few trains, all other trains were under the control of zonal railways) which aims to provide “Hygienic food at affordable price”. IRCTCs focus on non- railway sectors starting from food kiosks and cafeteria to food courts has earned Rs. 29 cr from its 80 non-railway catering outlet across the country in 2012-2013, a jump of Rs 18 cr compared to previous year. Since, Indian Railways is one of the largest network which serves food to the travelling public, health and safety of the people is a prime concern. This study focuses on the key areas such as quality of food prepared & served and its impact on people’s well-being. The railway catering serves food to the people through zonal catering divisions and onboard pantry cars. An analysis on the menu and the nutritional value of the food is done. It’s highly imperative for the food handlers to follow food safety procedures such as HACCP, quality of water, personal hygiene and so on. For this research, qualitative analysis and non-random sampling is followed. An in-depth interview with the managers, passengers and contractors are done along with the site visit. In order to improve the quality of food served in the railways, IRCTC has taken slew of measures such as mobile squads for surprise checks, customer service no. for grievance against the food served on trains and onsite inspection. This study reveals the challenges faced by the railways such as varying level of quality across the regions and contractors & complaints relate to overcharging, less quantity & substandard quality.