Not breakfast or dinner: IRCTC says this is India’s most-ordered train meal

Train journeys in India almost always begin with the same debate. Do you carry food from home - those carefully packed parathas and snacks - or take a chance on whatever you find during the trip? For years, passengers have done a bit of both.

But lately, more travellers are choosing the easier option: ordering food straight to their seat. That’s exactly what IRCTC’s e-Pantry service is trying to fix. Instead of worrying about where your next meal will come from, passengers can now pre-book food online and have it delivered during the journey itself. No running down platforms when the train stops. No last-minute panic buying. Just food arriving where you’re already sitting. And recently, IRCTC shared something interesting - which meal people are ordering the most.

So, how does the e-Pantry actually work?

If you’ve travelled on trains like Vande Bharat, Shatabdi, or Rajdhani, you already know meals can be selected while booking tickets. These trains don’t rely on onboard pantry cars; food comes directly from IRCTC kitchens. But many long-distance mail and express trains don’t have pantry cars at all. Anyone who has travelled on these routes knows the struggle - long hours on the train and limited food options.

To solve this, IRCTC launched the e-pantry meal booking service in April 2025. It first started as an experiment on the Vivek Express. The response was good enough that the service quickly expanded to 25 mail and express trains across India. Now passengers can order meals in advance and simply wait for them to arrive at their berth. Honestly, it removes one major stress from long journeys.

The big question: What are people ordering the most?

IRCTC data shows that more than 65,000 meals have already been booked through the service. And here’s what passenger behaviour looks like:

Breakfast and dinner together crossed around 17,000 orders. Tea orders - both morning and evening - went past 8,000. But lunch turned out to be the clear winner, crossing 15,000 bookings. Not surprising, really. During long train rides, people often want one proper, filling meal rather than just snacks or packaged food. Lunch seems to hit that sweet spot. Among all routes, the Nizamuddin–Bengaluru Sampark Kranti Express recorded the highest demand, with nearly 8,300 meal orders.

Many passengers say they trust the consistency and quality of meals on this train. December 2025 also stood out as the busiest month so far, touching about 16,500 bookings. That spike shows travellers are slowly getting comfortable with the idea of pre-ordering meals.

Booking food is pretty straightforward

Passengers can choose the e-pantry option while booking tickets on the IRCTC website, provided the service is available on that train. It works for confirmed tickets, RAC passengers, and even those on the waiting list. After booking, travellers receive a Meal Verification Code, or MVC, through SMS or email. On travel day, this code confirms the order and the meal is delivered right to the passenger’s seat at the scheduled station. Simple enough.

No cash, no confusion

Another reason the system works well is that everything is digital. Payments happen online, so there’s no need to carry cash or deal with onboard vendors. Orders are tracked through a digital system, which means accountability stays high.

If a meal isn’t delivered, passengers automatically receive a refund and an update message.

Why travellers are warming up to it

Food has always been one of the trickiest parts of long train travel, especially on routes without pantry cars. People either packed too much food or ended up hungry between stations. The e-pantry service changes that equation. You know what you’re eating and when it’s arriving. And honestly, that small comfort matters. When you already have a confirmed seat, a window view, and now a guaranteed meal on the way, the journey just feels easier. Sometimes travel upgrades aren’t about luxury. They’re about removing little worries, and this one seems to be doing exactly that.