Diwali is one of the most exciting festivals for me, and I prefer to go back home and enjoy it with family members. Diwali attracts a large crowd, where increased passenger numbers and limited seat availability may cause stress when trying to get a confirmed ticket. Therefore, I booked my ticket and railway food order in advance to avoid the last-minute rush.
My train was scheduled to depart late in the afternoon from LTT Mumbai to reach Patna Junction late at night. Since the journey was quite long, I planned my food in train for the second day in the afternoon and evening for a smooth and comfortable journey. However, I miscalculated on my first day, and that made me learn to plan well next time.
This article will cover my Diwali train travel experience. It also includes how I planned my train meals and booked food on the train properly. It also covers how to book meals in advance and the reasons behind advance planning, especially for festive travel.
Relation Between Diwali Travel and Railway Food Order
Indian railway stations become overcrowded during Diwali because everyone is travelling home from their current places. Increased traffic makes it difficult to easily reach the train during boarding or to get platform meals during the journey. Therefore, smart travellers place railway food order to avoid the challenges of getting down to the platform in search of meals.
Long journeys require proper meals, and Diwali journeys require keeping the vibe on. Therefore, like everyone, I also planned to book my meal in advance. However, I skipped the first day's evening meal because I was thinking that I would carry food from home for the first day, but the last-minute rush made me forget to carry my meal.
Challenges to Face When Not Planning Advance Meal
During the train journey, I faced multiple challenges to get food on track at the last minute. Some of the challenges are listed below.
Short Time to Get Platform Meals
I forgot to take my dinner with me while boarding and remembered when the train departed and reached Nashik Road. I watched people rush towards local food vendors, but short halts made many avoid purchasing food and rush back to the train.
Limited Options During Late Night
I found that time is running fast and late decisions may make me sleep hungry. It's hard to find tasty food in train late at night because options get reduced with time. So, I was planning to make my decision before hunger strikes.
Uncertain Food Quality and Hygiene
I observed that some passengers get the platform meals but it was not hygienic. So, I planned to get quality meals and searched on RailRestro to find the right restaurant according to my preference that can improve my travel mood.
Little Options on Pantry Car
I skipped the pantry meals because they have limited food options that I don’t want to eat during my festive journey. Since the Diwali journey requires festive and tasty meals, I decided to get my food on track at Jalgaon station because it offered my favorite snacks and meals.
What About Advanced Meal Planning?
After getting my meal via RailRestro on the first day of my Diwali journey, I enjoyed my meal by watching lightning near the tracks and enjoyed movies, songs, and sleep. However, you may be thinking about the next day's journey.
So, you already know that I made an advance booking to get a railway food order for afternoon and evening meals. I made my advance booking just after ticket confirmation to stay relaxed during the journey.
How to Make Advanced Meal Planning via RailRestro?
The following steps assisted me in booking my food in train earlier before my journey. These steps are below.
- Reach out to the RailRestro official website or download the mobile app.
- Enter a 10-digit PNR number and hit the Order Now tab.
- Confirm the boarding station.
- Choose the preferred delivery station.
- Pick your meals from top restaurants available at a particular station.
- Proceed to fill in the customer details and apply the RailRestro coupon code.
- Make payment using UPI, debit/credit card, net banking, or COD.
My Learning from this Diwali Train Journey
This Diwali train journey helped me learn many things. Some of them are as follows.
- Plan Early: I learned that smart planning before the journey can help to avoid the last-minute rush and make the journey more comfortable and stress-free.
- Plan Following Train Schedule: I have also learned to plan smart by following the train schedule. It helps to understand the en route stations and plan food on track accordingly.
- Stay Flexible: Train journeys can be unpredictable for any reason. Therefore, staying flexible can help you plan quickly and make decisions according to the situation. Here, my first day's dinner planning was flexible to plan food in train for the upcoming railway station.
- Carry Backup Snack: I also learned to carry some snacks with luggage to enjoy the journey while witnessing the landscape through the wide panoramic windows.
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