The food and ready-to-eat delivery company Swiggy reported that its Food on Train service has increased 12fold over the last two years (from August 2024 to August 2026). Furthermore, the pace of service adoption in second and third-tier cities is twice as fast as the growth rate in megacities.
In addition, Swiggy has expanded the coverage of its Food on Train offering to 201 railway stations, up from 66 stations served in 2024.
Swiggy also introduced two new features to simplify and speed up orders during journeys. The first feature is 'Search by Train,' which allows users to bypass standard restaurant filtering by simply entering the train number or name for instant viewing of available dishes corresponding to their route and schedule. The second new feature is the '99 Store Widget,' a special section in the app that enables passengers to easily find affordable dining options during long trips.
Sidharth Bhaku, Director of Business Development at Swiggy Food Marketplace, noted that 'Food on Train is a prime example of how technology creates entirely new consumption occasions, allowing travelers not only to plan meals around their journeys but also to use this opportunity to discover regional favorites along the way.' He added that the service has gained wide acceptance among various consumer groups, including Generation Z.
Swiggy also shared interesting trends regarding changing eating habits of train passengers. In just over a year, passengers have started moving away from fast food and carbonated drinks towards healthier alternatives. Compared to last year, travelers are more frequently choosing traditional beverages such as lassi (60 percent), tal (40 percent), and mojito (90 percent), while orders for standard fizzy drinks have significantly decreased. There is a return to traditional and regional comfort foods on trains; full meals, such as talis, account for over 65 percent of all train orders. However, dessert orders have shown an exponential growth of 110 percent, with rasgullas leading this growth.
New stations have been added to the network, including Kolapur, Wardha, Shahdol, Kakinada, Bharatpur, Chittur, Tanjavur, Raigarh, Jamnagar, Indore, and Tundla. Moreover, passengers are using their journeys as regional culinary tours, ordering iconic local dishes right from their seats. This trend is visible in station-level sales data: Pyaz Kachori is the most popular item at Jaipur Junction, and Poha ranks in the top 10 breakfasts in Bhopal. Local biryanis dominate orders at southern and central stations, and they also lead sales in Lucknow alongside famous Tunday Galouti kebabs. Interestingly, Haldiram's thalis lead in Nagpur, while local seafood thalis are among the most popular orders in Madgaon in Goa.