Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd. (IRCTC), a Navratna CPSE under the Ministry
of Railways, Government of India, and it serves as the hospitality and travel arm of Indian Railways.
IRCTC is dedicated to enhance catering services and promote rail-based domestic and inbound tourism.

The recently introduced e-Pantry meal booking facility in Mail/Express Train with pantry cars is
receiving overwhelming response from the passengers. In the Mail/Express trains, the meals are not
included in the ticket fare and the meals are to be purchased during the travel. e-Pantry is a digitally
enabled solution to pre-book meals on select Mail/Express trains with pantry cars.

Initially piloted on Vivek Express (Train No. 22503-04)—India’s longest-distance train—e-Pantry is
now available in 25 Mail / Express trains. Since its phase wise introduction in April 2025, the response
to the service has been very encouraging. More than 65000 meals have been booked through IRCTC e-
pantry service. The Breakfast and Dinner meal registered booking of more than 17000 meals each and
similarly Morning and Evening Tea saw booking of more than 8000 orders each. The lunch service also
received more than 15000 orders during this period. December 2025 registered the highest meal booked
as 16500 orders with Train no. 12649-50/12629-30 (YPR Sampark Kranti Express) accounting for
approx. 8300 orders.

Integrated into the IRCTC ticket booking platform (www.irctc.co.in), this facility allows passengers
with confirmed, RAC, or partially confirmed tickets to pre-order standard meals and Rail Neer,
delivered directly to their seats by pantry car staff.

How to order: Passengers can select the e-Pantry meal option during the booking process on the IRCTC
website (www.irctc.co.in), either from the confirmation page or under “My Transaction” section in
“Booked Food History” section. After booking, passengers receive a confirmation message and a Meal
Verification Code (MVC) via SMS or email. On the day of travel, passengers share the MVC with the
vendor, who delivers the pre-ordered meal directly to their seat.

Now passengers can easily pre-book a Breakfast, Standard Meal Lunch/Dinner or Rail Neer online,
ensuring meal delivery during their journey. Payments are made online via digital payment methods,
eliminating the need for cash transactions during travel. A Meal Verification Code (MVC) is used to
confirm that the meals are delivered to the correct passenger. All meal orders are managed through
digital dashboards, ensuring greater transparency, accountability, and compliance with tax regulations.
If a meal is not delivered as per the booking, passengers are entitled to a refund. Cancellation and refund
details are communicated through Email or SMS.

IRCTC continues to redefine the travel experience of the valued passengers through such innovative
ways of meal bookings by leveraging technology thus contributing to the Digital India Mission.