{"id":3695,"date":"2025-08-01T10:30:18","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T10:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/railtravels.org\/?p=3695"},"modified":"2025-08-01T10:30:18","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T10:30:18","slug":"irctc-on-the-e-catering-service-revenue-earned-expenditure-food-order-per-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/irctc-on-the-e-catering-service-revenue-earned-expenditure-food-order-per-day\/","title":{"rendered":"IRCTC on the E-catering Service Revenue Earned, Expenditure, Food Order Per Day"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

IRCTC on the E-catering Service Revenue Earned, Expenditure, Food Order Per Day<\/strong><\/p>\n

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA<\/strong>
\nMINISTRY OF RAILWAYS<\/strong>
\nLOK SABHA<\/strong><\/p>\n

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 1730<\/p>\n

ANSWERED ON: 21.09.2025<\/p>\n

E-Catering Service<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gitaben Vajesingbhai Rathva<\/strong>
\nParbatbhai Savabhai Patel<\/strong>
\nNaranbhai Bhikhabhai Kachhadiya<\/strong>
\nJaswantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor<\/strong>
\nShantanu Thakur<\/strong><\/p>\n

Will the Minister of Railways be pleased to state:-<\/p>\n

(a) the details of the revenue earned as compared to the expenditure incurred by IRCTC on the E-catering service during the last three years;
\n(b) the details of the target fixed in comparison to the passengers who ordered food from IRCTC E-catering service during the last three years; and
\n(c) the steps taken by the Government to improve IRCTC E-catering service?<\/p>\n

ANSWER<\/strong>
\nMINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)<\/strong><\/p>\n

(a): The details of the revenue earned as compared to the expenditure incurred by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) on the e-Catering service during the last three years are as follows:<\/p>\n

Financial Year: 2025-18, 3.47 Revenue Earned ( Rs. in crores), 3.90 Expenditure Incurred ( Rs. in crores)
\nFinancial Year: 2025-19, 4.42 Revenue Earned ( Rs. in crores), 4.65 Expenditure Incurred ( Rs. in crores)
\nFinancial Year: 2025-20, 8.63 Revenue Earned ( Rs. in crores), 6.47 Expenditure Incurred ( Rs. in crores)<\/p>\n

(b): The details of the target fixed in comparison to the passengers who ordered food from IRCTC e-catering service during the last three years are as follows:<\/p>\n

Target set for no. of meals booking through e-Catering per day 15,000 (2017-18), 10,376 (2018-19), 20,000 (2025-20)<\/p>\n

Target achieved in no. of meals booking through e-Catering per day 5,188 (2017-18), 11,858 (2018-19), 21,571 (2025-20)<\/p>\n

(c): E-catering service on Indian Railways is managed by IRCTC. Initially, e-Catering, as a pilot project, was undertaken on 45 major stations and has subsequently been extended to all \u2018A-1\u2019 & \u2018A\u2019 category of stations. Prior to COVID-19 pandemic, e-Catering service was available at 325 Railway stations through 225 Service Providers and 12 Food Aggregators, supplying an average number of 21,571 meals per day.<\/p>\n

Various steps have been taken by IRCTC to proliferate e-Catering which are as follows:<\/p>\n

(i) A user friendly mobile version of website has been created which is gathering an encouraging response from the passengers.<\/p>\n

(ii) Reputed delivery aggregators have been roped in to facilitate smooth delivery of food.<\/p>\n

(iii) Issuance of electronic invoice for orders booked through e-Catering.<\/p>\n

(iv) Online registration of vendors.<\/p>\n

(v) Vendors\/ Aggregators can apply for ID card, food delivery through electronically mode only.<\/p>\n

(vi) Bulk Order mechanism has facilitated group passengers to get \u2018value for money\u201d food.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a comprehensive breakdown of IRCTC\u2019s e\u2011catering service<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

\n

\ud83d\udcca Revenue, Expenditure & Orders Per Day<\/h2>\n

From Parliamentary Data (as of FY 2025\u20132025)<\/h3>\n

As reported to Lok Sabha in September 2025:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • FY\u202f2025\u201118<\/strong>: Revenue \u20b93.47\u202fcr; Expenditure \u20b93.90\u202fcr (loss)<\/li>\n
  • FY\u202f2025\u201119<\/strong>: Revenue \u20b94.42\u202fcr; Expenditure \u20b94.65\u202fcr<\/li>\n
  • FY\u202f2025\u201120<\/strong>: Revenue \u20b98.63\u202fcr; Expenditure \u20b96.47\u202fcr (operational profit)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Orders vs Targets per Day<\/h3>\n
      \n
    • FY\u202f2025\u201118<\/strong>: Target = 15,000 orders\/day; Achieved = ~5,188\/day<\/li>\n
    • FY\u202f2025\u201119<\/strong>: Target = 10,376; Achieved = ~11,858\/day<\/li>\n
    • FY\u202f2025\u201120<\/strong>: Target = 20,000; Achieved = ~21,571\/day<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
      \n

      \ud83c\udf72 Usage & Growth in Recent Years<\/h2>\n
        \n
      • In August 2025<\/strong>, IRCTC reported hitting a milestone\u201450,000 food orders delivered in one day<\/strong>.\n
          \n
        • For the year FY\u202f2025\u201122, average daily e\u2011catering orders stood at 6,971<\/strong>, totaling ~55.62\u202flakh meals served<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
        • By FY\u202f2025\u201124<\/strong> (IRCTC Annual Report):\n
            \n
          • IRCTC achieved average daily meal bookings of 40,669 (including cooked pantry meals and train-side vending)<\/strong><\/li>\n
          • Specifically, e\u2011catering orders have crossed 40,000 per day on average<\/strong>, with total segment profit of \u20b9268.8\u202fcr and revenue of \u20b91,947.2\u202fcr across all catering services (which includes static, mobile, and e\u2011catering)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
          • As of May 2025<\/strong>, IRCTC sees daily e\u2011catering gross transaction value at \u20b91.5 crore<\/strong>, with margins ~15% in FY\u202f2025\u2014driven by partnerships with Zomato and Swiggy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
            \n

            \ud83d\udccb Summary Table<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
            Metric<\/th>\n2025\u201118<\/th>\n2025\u201119<\/th>\n2025\u201120<\/th>\n2025<\/th>\n2025\u201124<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
            Revenue (\u20b9 cr)<\/td>\n3.47<\/td>\n4.42<\/td>\n8.63<\/td>\n\u2013<\/td>\nPart of \u20b91,947.2 total<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
            Expenditure (\u20b9 cr)<\/td>\n3.90<\/td>\n4.65<\/td>\n6.47<\/td>\n\u2013<\/td>\n\u2013<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
            Avg Orders\/Day<\/td>\n~5,188<\/td>\n~11,858<\/td>\n~21,571<\/td>\n~6,971<\/td>\n~40,000+<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
            Milestone Peak Day Orders<\/td>\n\u2013<\/td>\n\u2013<\/td>\n\u2013<\/td>\n50,000<\/td>\n\u2013<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
            Margin (%)<\/td>\n\u2013<\/td>\n\u2013<\/td>\n\u2013<\/td>\n\u2013<\/td>\n~15%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
            \n

            \ud83e\uddfe Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n
              \n
            • For initial years (2017\u201319), expenses exceeded revenue<\/strong>, but the service turned profitable by FY 2025\u201320.<\/li>\n
            • E\u2011catering usage has grown sharply<\/strong>, from ~5,000 orders\/day in 2017 to over 40,000\/day by 2025.<\/li>\n
            • IRCTC\u2019s e\u2011catering average margin is around 15%<\/strong> as of FY 2025.<\/li>\n
            • Over time, IRCTC has shifted from investment-heavy prototype stage to sustainable, scalable operations with low-cost partnerships.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
              \n

              \u26a0\ufe0f User Reviews & Challenges<\/h2>\n
                \n
              • Some passengers report overcharging by onboard pantry vendors<\/strong>; others advocate e\u2011catering or third-party apps (like Zomato) as better alternatives.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                \n

                \u2705 How I Can Help<\/h2>\n
                  \n
                • Want a station-wise list<\/strong>: average orders per station or meals\/day?<\/li>\n
                • Curious about earnings breakdown per vendor category<\/strong> (static vs onboard vs e\u2011catering)?<\/li>\n
                • Or interested in comparisons with ticketing or Rail Neer revenue streams<\/strong>?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                  Feel free to ask\u2014I\u2019d be happy to dive deeper!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                  IRCTC on the E-catering Service Revenue Earned, Expenditure, Food Order Per Day GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 1730 ANSWERED ON: 21.09.2025 E-Catering Service Gitaben Vajesingbhai Rathva Parbatbhai Savabhai Patel Naranbhai Bhikhabhai Kachhadiya Jaswantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor Shantanu Thakur Will the Minister of Railways be pleased to state:- (a) the details […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":102,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[284,4,73,285,286],"class_list":["post-3695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-irctc","tag-e-catering-services","tag-irctc","tag-irctc-e-catering-services","tag-new-catering-policy-in-railways","tag-station-based-e-catering-services"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/102"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3695\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}