Fresh meals on some premium trains were hit, while fried snacks at suburban stations may disappear due to the LPG squeeze. The Indian Railways' cloud kitchen at Sewri, which supplies meals to 4,500 passengers daily, ran out of LPG.
As a backup, ready-to-eat food items were stocked in the pantry car of the Rajdhani Express. Suburban commuters may be impacted as their favourite snacks, such as vadas, samosas, and bread pakoda, will not be served.
There are over 460 food stalls in the Mumbai division of the Western Railway, and the IRCTC has sent an advisory to catering licence owners to switch to alternative cooking modes, such as microwaves and induction.
Small electric induction stoves are appearing at some food stalls to heat pre-prepared food, and there are concerns over possible curtailment in catering services in long-distance trains.
The Railway Board has requested uninterrupted supply of 8,000-odd LPG cylinders at 340 stations across various railway divisions.
