To promote Digital India initiative over Indian Railways, digital method of transactions for purchase of food items through catering units at Railway Stations is being encouraged and 8878 static units are having the facility of digital payment. In addition to this, Handheld PoS machines are being provided at catering units to generate printed bills and invoices reflecting all details of transactions undertaken and to address the complaints of overcharging. At present, 3081 POS machines are available on 596 trains. 4316 static units have been provided with POS machines.
For widening the range of options available to passengers in trains, E-Catering Services have been introduced on Indian Railways. E-catering services are managed by IRCTC. Passengers can pre-order meals of their choice at the time of booking of e-ticket or while travelling on train using App/Call Centre/website/by calling 1323. E-Catering service is currently available at 310 Railway stations through 1755 Service Providers and 14 Food Aggregators, supplying an average number of 41,844 meals per day.
