Unknown Fact: Every day lakhs of people travel by train in India. Some passengers keep home-made tiffin with them, while many people order fresh and hot food at the seat through IRCTC’s e-Catering service. In the recently released data of 2025–2026, IRCTC told which food is being ordered the most in trains.
According to the report, more than 65,000 orders were registered on e-Pantry and e-Catering platforms, in which lunch had the highest share.
Data shows that more than 15,000 lunch orders were placed, while more than 17,000 bookings were registered for breakfast and dinner. Morning and evening tea was also ordered more than 8,000 times.
The highest number of 16,500 orders were registered in December 2025. Especially in trains like New Delhi Bengaluru Sampark Kranti Express, the number of orders was high due to better food quality. This is the reason why keywords like “IRCTC food order in train”, and “e Catering data 2025” are trending on social media.
The most popular dish among travelers is North Indian Veg Thali. This thali usually includes roti, rice, dal, vegetables, salad and pickles. This combination tastes like home-made food and is also filling.
Although dal-rice combo and vegetable-roti combo are also liked, but due to all these things being available together in the plate, it is in highest demand. As a budget option, veg thali is available for around Rs 70 to Rs 100, making it both affordable and popular.
Traditional dishes like Rajma-rice, Chole-rice and Khichdi are also quite popular among the travelers. Chicken curry-rice gets good demand among non-veg. IRCTC’s e-Catering service is now available at over 300 stations, where passengers can also order food from popular brands like Domino’s, Haldiram’s and KFC.
These figures show that Indian passengers prefer simple, home-style and affordable food during long train journeys. Even though food trends keep changing with time, the taste of dal-rice and veg thali is still winning the hearts of people.