‘Air hostesses’ to give flight-like service on Vande Bharat train

After its high-tech interiors and tasty meals, the superfast Delhi-Varanasi Vande Bharat Express will now have smartly-dressed ‘air hostesses’ on board handing out food to passengers.Indian Railways has hired over 34 ‘air hostesses and flight stewards’ to care for passengers on Vande Bharat, which was inaugurated on February 15.The air hostesses, attired in white shirt and black trousers with a black sleeveless jacket, a silk scarf, and with the hair smartly combed back, would wheel in the food trolleys, laden with food and drinks for the passengers.The Indian Rail Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has hired the air hostesses and flight stewards on Vande Bharat, which was earlier named Train 18, a railway official said, declining to be named. The move is part of a six-month pilot project to take forward Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal’s dream of making the railways more competitive by providing world class service to passengers.Besides adding to passenger comfort, the railways also hopes the move will help minimise complaints about shoddy behaviour of pantry staff.Just like on an airline flight, the air hostesses and flight stewards would greet passengers with a smile and ‘namastey’ while boarding and thank them while leaving.IRCTC managing director M P Mall told IANS, “We have hired 34 air hostesses and flight stewards from the Air Borne Air Hostess Academy in Delhi to provide flight-like hospitality services on board the Vande Bharat Express.” He said the pilot project is aimed at not only improving the catering service but also “improve communication” with passengers.The pilot project was launched a month ago and the response has been “amazing”, he said.If the project is successful, the IRCTC would float a tender to hire more such personnel for the Vande Bharat Express as well as other premium trains like Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Tejas and Humsafar Express trains.IRCTC spokesperson Siddharth Singh said that air hostesses and stewards would be paid Rs25,000 a month.Earlier, the pantry staff were paid around Rs8,000 to Rs10,000 a month by a private company hired for providing services.The prime minister flagged off the Vande Bharat Express chair-car train from New Delhi to his parliamentary constituency Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh on February 15. It covers the 850km distance in eight hours, compared to 12 hours by other trains.