A unique dining experience is in the works in Lucknow and other UP cities, for the Indian Railways (IRs) is coming up with a food joint initiative on rail coaches.
This is a non-fare revenue opportunity where the IRs will be putting discarded train coaches on lease for a period of 3-5 years. The same could be utilised by restaurant owners, who would, in turn, convert the coaches into antique/exotic food joints.
These ‘restaurants on wheels’ are expected to sprout in railway stations of Charbagh, Gomti Nagar, Sidhauli (Sitapur), Gorakhpur, Varanasi junction, Varanasi city, Agra Cantt and Jhansi.
Open-air railway museums also in plans
Some of these coach restaurants, like that of Agra Cantt, will be given a regal makeover, with “Jharokha windows, vintage lamps and royal style dining table sets,” said Ashok Kumar, PRO of Varanasi division of NER zone.
Besides this, open-air railway museums will also be established on the premises to contribute to tourism in the state. These museums will revolve around the history of railways, mechanisms of the past and stories around its evolution. While this will be a free-of-cost initiative, the ‘restaurant on wheels’ will be a paid service.
As of now, NER’s Banaras and Izzatnagar stations of Uttar Pradesh have functional ‘restaurant on wheels’.
(With inputs from IANS)
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