Food in Train Services from TravelKhana.Com

TravelKhana provides a platform of food delivery in train for India wide rail passengers. TravelKhana connects passengers of Indian Railways to several restaurants situated near the Indian rail network.

It provides a variety of choice to travellers in terms of cuisines and different prices. The automated platform of TravelKhana tracks trains across India in real time. This is to make sure that passengers get meals of their choice fresh and piping hot, in time.

Vendors and restaurants get additional business through this system. Also, it completes an entire circle from point of ordering to delivery and to customer feedback.

TravelKhana operates through call centre interface - 8800313131, web interface – www.travelkhana.com, and mobile app interface – www.play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.travelkhana. You can save more on your food order through web interface or via mobile app.

TravelKhana.com was founded by Pushpinder Singh, a technocrat. It was launched in Delhi with a capital of Rs 50 lakh, invested by founders and promoters. The idea was incubated in CDAC, NOIDA.

In the period – November to December 2011, the company did some regional testing and launched a fully fledged ordering platform only from January 2012. Today, the company operates on a margin of 10-20% of amount ordered, but this is likely to be enhanced to 15-25% as volumes grow and there is more business to vendors.

Logistics of food delivery is the responsibility of vendors. But TravelKhana tracks trains and ensures that meals are delivered efficiently and on time. TravelKhana started operations at 5 stations: Kota, Ajmer, Jaipur, Gwalior and Bhopal. Passengers passing through these stations could order meals of their choice. TravelKhana is currently serving 6000 trains across 500 cities. Indian Railways see 6 billion passengers travelling by the network on an annual basis. Premium travellers account for 10% of this market, which is their directly targeted market. TravelKhana has tied up with over 200 restaurants near the Indian rail network. The rail budgets of the government have announced that such services for passengers will be promoted India wide.

Pushpinder Singh, the Founder and CEO of TravelKhana, has a B-tech degree from BHU and masters in computer science from BITS Pilani. He has over 15 years experience in the software industry. The founders of TravelKhana.com have a passion for travel. They realized that there are very less options of food for tourists and travellers. This is especially true for passengers of Indian Railways and there is a big gap between demand and supply. Being a frequent train traveller, Pushpinder Singh understood this anomaly and the idea for TravelKhana.com was born. The founders invested around Rs 20 lakh in addition to revenues accrued from services. Promoters committed an additional Rs 30 lakh to the venture.

While starting up, the company faced many obstacles like training vendors, logistics and operation management and opposition from existing and established players. TravelKhana’s aim is to let travellers enjoy their train journey with choice of food in train to them fresh and hot.

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Indian Railways – Connecting Passengers through the Length and Breadth of the Country

Indian Railways was introduced during the colonial era by the British for moving troops and goods from one location to the other. The first train is said to have run between Bombay (presently called Mumbai) and Thane. Since then Indian railway network slowly spread through the length and breadth of the country. After independence, the railways gained significant prominence both as a transporter of heavy goods and items for manufacturing units, finished goods to the end market spread across the country. Apart from this, it also has been boasting of carrying passengers in millions on a daily basis either to their destination of workplace, for business or for leisure travel. Going through TravelKhana “SpotUrTrain” utility, It can help the individual to know more about running train status.

• Local and Long Distance Trains -

The other important aspect that was kept in mind when implementing and expanding facilities for the general public is the introduction of local and long distance trains. Since the country is a big one on all the sides and with people slowly realizing the need to shift their base for the purpose of carrying out business or looking for job, there was a requirement to travel. This had prompted the Indian railways to expand its base slowly and steadily. With each passing day, saw the introduction of new tracks and lines so that trains can run from source to destination and be connected without any hassle. The local trains or the EMUs run between several stations and terminate at an important city on the end so that the local people of the region can avail the train to reach the city for performing their jobs on a regular basis. At the same time, the trains that travelled a long distance probably from one particular state or region to the other covering several states are called long distance trains.

Checking the SpotUrTrain utility by TravelKhana can give the individual a wonderful idea about train running status and to plan his booking accordingly. While the local trains have basic seating amenities, the long distance ones have sleeper facilities, air conditioned coaches and also have pantry within to help passengers to enjoy their journey that might entail a day or two, depending upon source and destination.

• Safety Aspects -

The reason why Indian railways are the most preferred mode of travel among people of all ages and throughout the region is its safety. When compared to other modes of transport, it does have a good track record of helping passengers to reach their destination in style and without any hassle. With the Indian railway board doing everything to expand its existing network to improve infrastructure both inside the stations as well as the trains, travelers are surely in for a surprise to get a ride in their choice of trains that is not only smooth, but also relaxed and gives them great pleasure. Using the trains indeed a wonderful way to reach new places, connect with relatives and friends staying at other parts of the country and help business to grow in leaps and bounds.

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