Passengers allege that IRCTC is trying to charge money for food by confusing the passengers.. Representative image/iStock
Passengers trying to book tickets for premium trains like Rajdhani, Duronto, and Vande Bharat have been struggling because they cannot find the option to opt out of onboard meal bookings in the Rail One app. Meanwhile, there are allegations that IRCTC has deliberately removed this option to help caterers who have secured contracts to supply food on these trains. Earlier, there was an option to opt in or out of booking meals while reserving tickets. Passengers who travel a short distance often prefer to skip booking onboard meals.
The ticket fares would be lower too if meals are not chosen. However, now the ‘no food’ option has been removed from the food menu. Now, you could choose the ‘no food’ option only by providing the edit option in the master passenger list. Passengers trying to book tickets often get confused because this option is not easy to find.
The ticket fares too would be less if meals are not chosen. Representative image/Manorama
How to opt out of meals?
1. Log in to Rail One app
2. Click on the ‘You’ option at the bottom of the home page
3. Click on the ‘Edit Passenger’ option next to your name
4. Click on the meals box. On top, you will see the option ‘No Food.’
5. Click on Update Passenger
6. In case you are booking a ticket for someone who is not in the saved passenger list, then you should include his/her name in the saved list, click on ‘meal preference’ and choose the ‘no food’ option.
Meanwhile, IRCTC reportedly claims that it was a technical glitch and it’s been fixed. However, passengers allege that IRCTC is trying to charge for food by confusing them. The number of passengers opting for onboard meals has nosedived on the two Vande Bharat trains running through Kerala due to poor food quality. Now, the food quality has improved after the contract was cancelled two weeks ago. Meanwhile, complaints are rife that poor-quality food is served in the Thiruvananthapuram–Nizamudeen Rajadhani Express. We have reached out to the Railways for their explanation, but haven’t received a response yet.
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