Non-veg breakfast made unavailable on Vande Bharat trains; passengers with protest

CHENNAI: Controversy erupted over the non-availability of non-vegetarian breakfast on Vande Bharat trains. The non-vegetarian breakfast was stopped on the elite trains running from Chennai to Nagercoil, Mysore, Bengaluru and Tirunelveli. Passengers complained of the sudden move from Southern Railway without informing them in advance.

Those who book tickets on the IRCTC app are getting a notification regarding this. It is now informed that non-veg dishes will be available only for lunch and dinner. This notification is received while providing personal details and food-related information. However, railway officials have informed this is a technical error in the IRCTC app and there will be an option to choose non-veg dishes at the time of booking. Meanwhile, Southern Railway General Manager RN Singh has not responded to the issue.

David Manohar, a passenger travelling from Chennai to Nagercoil, brought out the issue saying that the IRCTC app failed to notify him about the unavailability of non-vegetarian food for breakfast. When informed through X about the issue, IRCTC is reported to have told David that the non-vegetarian option was exclusive only to the evening menu.

David pointed out that IRCTC cannot prevent this without informing the passengers in advance. IRCTC is responsible for catering for premium trains including Vande Bharat. The train ticket is charged inclusive of the cost of food.