Swiggy inks MoU with IRCTC to provide food delivery service on Indian railways
Swiggy, India’s leading online food ordering and delivery platform, and the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) have signed a Memorandum of understanding (MoU) to deliver pre-ordered food on trains. The MoU was exchanged between Mr Sanjay Kumar Jain, Chairman and Managing Director, IRCTC and Mr Rohit Kapoor, CEO, Swiggy Food Marketplace, in the presence of senior officials from both organizations.
As part of the MoU, Swiggy will deliver food from its extensive restaurant network to passengers on the Indian railways starting with Bangalore, Bhubaneshwar, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada. The service is likely to expand to 59 additional city stations in the coming weeks.
Speaking about partnership, Mr Sanjay Kumar Jain, Chairman and Managing Director, IRCTC, said, “At IRCTC our focus has always been to explore new ways to make train journeys comfortable and convenient for the billions of passengers aboard the Indian railways every year. This partnership with Swiggy will bring more convenience and food options to our passengers, making their journeys more memorable.”
“Swiggy’s mission is to bring convenience to the lives of consumers. The Indian Railways are the lifeline of our nation, transporting more than 8 billion passengers annually. If during these rail journeys, which traverse across states and districts, one has the option to order meals to explore the culinary diversity of India, it would make the experience more convenient and enjoyable, and add to the overall vividness of the train travel,” said Mr Rohit Kapoor, CEO, Food Marketplace, Swiggy.
One of the challenges encountered by travelers during extended journeys is the paucity of diverse culinary options. Through this integration, passengers aboard designated trains now have the option to savour good-quality, warm meals delivered right to their seats, thereby transforming their travel into a convenient and delightful culinary experience.
“IRCTC and Swiggy collaboration is natural in several ways. Both the organisations have built a reputation of leveraging technology to improve consumer experience. Both have a pan-India presence. In the first phase, we are starting with deliveries on stations of Bengaluru, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Bhubaneswar. We are hopeful of a buoyant response from passengers and restaurant operators on this route, which will hopefully lead to us providing services on more stations and on newer routes,” added Kapoor.
Passengers can avail pre-ordered food services via Swiggy by following the below steps:
- Input the PNR on the IRCTC app
- Select the preferred station for food delivery
- Browse through an extensive list of restaurants on Swiggy
- Choose a restaurant that is delivering at the specified location and time
The food delivered to passengers will be packed in insulated Swiggy bags to keep the meal warm and fresh. Swiggy’s delivery partner would reach the selected platform X mins before delivery, hand over the food to the customer and mark the food delivered. To ensure smooth operations, effective issue resolution and maximum comfort for the passengers, Swiggy’s support agents will be trained in resolution process, gratification & cancellation policies. The support agents will also be equipped to connect with restaurants and delivery partners based on the order status and the nature of the customer issue.