Regional or local cuisines to be served in Vande Bharat Trains and then to be gradually introduced in all other trains of Indian Railways.
Now you may soon enjoy the local or regional food varieties when eating on a Vande Bharat Express trains on the Indian Railways, as local cuisines will be served, based on the region that train is passing through.
The Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, yesterday on 13 December 2025, directed officials to provide local cuisine of the region in Vande Bharat trains.
With this they aim to enhance passenger experience by offering food that reflects the culture and tastes of the regions that is being travelled through in the Vande Bharat Express trains.
This new local cuisine availability won't just be limited to Vande Bharat trains only, for it was also announced that this regional or local cuisine facility will be progressively expanded to all the Indian Railways trains, in the future.
Indian Railways serve about 58 crore (580 million) meals every year, on average, that is, it serves an average of 15.8 lakh (1.58 million) meals every day, as per the data by the Ministry of Railways.
Also, as per another announcement, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), which handles the food and catering for all the Indian Railways trains, is undertaking a proof-of-concept meal trials in selected Vande Bharat and Amrit Bharat trains by de-linking meal production and meal service, so that branded or reputed food and beverages operators, such as, industrial kitchens, restaurant chains, and flight caterers are roped in to provide fresh and hygienic meals for the railway passengers.
As per their announcement, the IRCTC is commencing this meal trail with an objective to have perceptible improvements in on-board catering services in the trains and to have a "paradigm shift" in the quality of meal service in the Indian Railways trains.
Update (18 December 2025) > Here's the details of regional cuisines available on Vande Bharat Express trains
Vande Bharat Express is Indian Railway's most advanced train till date, which is a reserved, air-conditioned chair car semi-high speed train service that runs between major cities which are typically with less than 10 hours of journey between them.
Vande Bharat trains are equipped with enhanced safety features and modern passenger amenities such as, the KAVACH system, faster acceleration, fully sealed gangways, automatic plug doors, better ride comfort, mini Pantry, reclining ergonomic seats, comfortable seating with revolving seats in executive class, mobile charging sockets for every seat, CCTVs, etc.
Amrit Bharat Express trains are a new class of super-fast passenger trains, which are non-air-conditioned and low cost, with reserved sleeper as well as unreserved coaches. They feature better features and facilities, such as, high Speed, enhanced safety features, and other amenities.
The Vande Bharat and Amrit Bharat are both electric trains that run on the electrified broad gauge railway network of Indian Railways. So far, India’s broad gauge railway network is nearly fully electrified, with 99.2 percent of this rail network already electrified. This network runs across 25 states plus union territories.
Read More about Vande Bharat & Amrit Bharat trains >
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