Indian Railways increases prices of tea, coffee served on trains

The Indian Railways has increased the prices of tea and coffee served on trains. The price of a 150-ml cup of tea with a tea bag has been increased to Rs 10 from Rs 7. Similarly, a 150-ml coffee using instant powder mix has also been tagged at Rs 10.

The railways circular said ready-made standard tea will be continued to be sold at Rs 5 per cup. Besides, the Indian Railways has also decided to discontinue the practice of serving tea in pots.

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The revision in prices are inclusive of GST. Railway in its circular wrote, "Since the tariff of standard food items fixed and notified earlier are inclusive of applicable taxes as per prevailing Central/State Government instructions from time to time i.e, service tax on outdoor catering/GST since introduction, the revised tariff of tea/coffee is also inclusive of GST as per the extant instructions. Therefore licensee/service providers will not collect any amount other than the fixed tariff,” the circular read.  

“It was a proposal from the IRCTC which was approved by the Railway Board. It is a minimal hike. We decided to discontinue the pot system as not many were ordering it anyway. We are trying to cut down on many things that are mere frills,” said an officer.

Nearly 350 trains have pantry cars which are served by the IRCTC. However, the price changes won’t affect Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express as the food package in trains are prepaid.