LPG Shortage Hits Indian Railways; IRCTC Switches to Electric Cooking on Pantry Cars, Stations and Food Plazas

Indian Railways' catering arm IRCTC is rapidly shifting from LPG-based cooking to electric induction systems on trains and at stations, as supply constraints in cooking gas begin to disrupt operations across the network.

LPG Shortage in Indian Railways Pantry: IRCTC Shifts Cooking on Electric Induction

The move comes amid tightening global energy supplies and disruptions in key trade routes, which have impacted the availability of LPG used in large-scale catering services. Indian Railways requires nearly 1,000 commercial LPG cylinders daily to support its onboard and station-based food operations.

To ensure uninterrupted meal services, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has started equipping pantry cars with induction-based cooking systems. The organisation currently serves around 1.7 million meals every day across more than 1,400 trains, many of which operate with LHB coaches fitted with modern pantry facilities. These pantry cars are now being adapted to run cooking equipment on electrical power instead of gas.

According to IRCTC officials, the transition enables continuous meal preparation even while trains are in motion, with necessary electrical safety systems already integrated into pantry coaches.

IRCTC Targets 60% Electric Cooking; Food Plazas & Station Kitchens Move Toward Induction and Microwave

The shift is also visible at railway stations. Food plazas and refreshment units are increasingly adopting induction cooktops and microwave-based cooking systems as part of the broader transition to electric operations. IRCTC is targeting nearly 60 percent of food preparation to be powered by electricity in the coming phase.

IRCTC coordinates with IOCL, BPCL and HPCL to manage LPG supply pressure

The changes are being coordinated with major fuel suppliers, including Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), to manage supply prioritisation during the ongoing crunch.

However, the operational shift comes at a financially challenging time for the catering business. IRCTC's catering margins have reportedly fallen to around 6.3 percent from over 10 percent in previous quarters, impacted by rising input costs while catering tariffs have remained unchanged since 2019.

Meanwhile, structural limitations continue to persist within the railway catering system. Parliamentary data shows that 341 trains still operate without pantry car facilities, limiting IRCTC's ability to centralise food production across the network.

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