Railways to set up restaurants in retired train coaches at Katra, Jammu stations

STATE TIMES NEWS

Jammu: The Indian Railways is converting two abandoned railway coaches into theme-based restaurants at Katra and Jammu railway stations here.
The initiative has been named “Beautiful Restaurants on Wheels” under which old train coaches are being refurbished and transformed into rail coach restaurants.
“Two rail-coach restaurants are under work in Jammu and Katra. This is a scheme of Indian Railways under which old coaches are converted into rail-coach restaurants. Tenders have been granted to two different parties,” Divisional Transportation Manager, Jammu, Prateek Srivastava told PTI.
He said the two AC restaurants combined will bring in an annual revenue of Rs 50 lakh and each of them will be set up over 1,600 square feet.
“Under this plan, we are offering these coaches to private parties to create state-of-the-art restaurants according to their own designs,” he said.
The first coach restaurant is expected to open its doors by December, with the coaches already in place. The two restaurants will have been named ‘Annapurna’ and ‘Maa Durga’.
“It will take 90 days to convert a coach into a fully functional restaurant. It will be equipped with all the necessary facilities,” Pradeep Gupta, the owner of Annapurna Restaurant, told PTI.
Restaurants on a similar line have already been successfully launched at nine to 10 major railway stations across India.
“The initiative is being experimented nationwide. To my knowledge, it is already operational at several railway stations like Jabalpur, Bhopal, Lucknow, and Varanasi,” the DTM said.
The two restaurants at Jammu and Katra railway stations will also serve non-vegetarian food and will be fully air-conditioned, he said.
Surjeet Singh, a passenger from Delhi, said tourists are excited about the rail-coach restaurants in Jammu.
“It will be a great addition to the beauty of the place. It’s the first restaurant of its kind here, offering a different and unique dining experience at the railway station,” he said. Rajiv Dwivedi, who was visiting Mata Vaishnodevi cave shrine, said, “It is a commendable step. Thanks to the government for taking this initiative. I believe the food will be excellent.” The Railways’ Food-on-Wheels restaurants will feature stylish interiors and exteriors, along with display panels offering virtual tours of various destinations in Jammu and Kashmir, with photos showcasing the cultural essence of Dograland, officials said.