Title - Railways Loco Pilots: Pantry food rate hiked

14th November 2012 
With the Southern Railway increasing the rates of food items in the pantry cars and railway canteens, passengers are finding the hike unpalatable.  The new rates, which came into effect without any notice,  caught many passengers unaware of the exorbitant price hike.

   Barring tea, coffee, packaged items and mineral water, the rates of other food items have been increased.   The price of chicken biriyani has been increased from Rs 84 to Rs 92 while that of egg biriyani has been jacked up to Rs 63 from Rs 58.  The vegetable biriyani saw a hike of Rs 13 and a plate of vada costs Rs 20.    “With the increase in the prices, passengers will be forced to either rely on parcel food from home or in case of long distance journeys that of private food malls at the railway stations.  Even though the price of the food has been increased it needs to be seen whether there will be any improvement in the quality of the food served in the trains,” said Anoop Kurien, a daily passenger from Thiruvananthapuram to Ernakulam.    When contacted, Southern Railway officials said that the price hike was just a periodic one.  “But we are yet to get any formal revised rates.  As it was a holiday on Tuesday, we will be able to give the exact price chart only on Wednesday,” he said.