New Delhi: Food delivery platform Swiggy on Tuesday announced a partnership with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to deliver pre-ordered meals to travelers at four major railway stations in India, joining rival Zomato in offering this service.
As part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Swiggy will begin delivering food from its extensive restaurant network to passengers on select trains, starting with Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam, and Vijayawada stations. The service is likely to be rolled out for 59 more stations across the country in the coming weeks.
“One of the challenges faced by travelers during extended journeys is the lack of diverse culinary options. Through this integration, passengers on selected trains now have the option to taste good quality, hot meals delivered directly to their seats, thus transforming their journey into a convenient and a delightful culinary experience,” Swiggy said in a statement announcing the partnership.
The Indian Railways transport more than 8 billion passengers every year. Last October, it announced a similar association with rival Zomato, starting with New Delhi, Prayagraj, Kanpur, Lucknow and Varanasi railway stations.
The delivery of the pre-ordered meals will be done through the IRCTC web delivery portal.
“At IRCTC our focus has always been to explore new ways to make train journeys comfortable and convenient for the billions of passengers on the Indian railways every year. This partnership with Swiggy will bring more convenience and dining options to our passengers, making their journeys more memorable,” said Sanjay Kumar Jain, chairman and managing director of IRCTC.
Rohit Kapoor, CEO of Food Marketplace at Swiggy, commented on the project as an exploratory step, emphasizing the company’s commitment to create value for consumers by offering a wide range of food options.
On a possible association with Swiggy Instamart, the company’s express business service, Kapoor said while the company had not “thought about it”, it was an “interesting” idea.
Passengers who want to avail Swiggy’s food delivery service can do so by entering their PNR in the IRCTC app and selecting their preferred station for food delivery.
Swiggy connects consumers to over 280,000 restaurant partners in hundreds of cities. Its fast food business Instamart is present in more than 25 cities.
Kapoor said the aggregator is “hopeful” of a buoyant response from passengers and restaurant operators on these routes. This will encourage Swiggy to extend the service across more stations and newer routes.
IRCTC provides catering, hospitality, packaged drinking water, online ticketing, travel and tourism services in India.
Through its e-service, IRCTC saw 1.48 billion meals ordered in the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2023. The service was available at around 338 stations, with an average of 40,669 meals ordered per day, according to its annual report for the year. .
It also offers stationary catering, which includes the provision of offline food services through refreshment stands, food courts and fast food outlets, among others, on railway platforms.
In fiscal year 2023, IRCTC generated revenues of ₹3,541.47 crore with net profit at ₹1,005.88 crores.
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Published: 05 Mar 2024, 16:20 IST