This train in India offers free food to passengers, it runs in…

Train journeys in India can be an amazing experience for travelers, especially if good food is available. Enjoying a hot meal with your friends or family during the trip makes traveling more fun and enjoyable. Normally, trains run pantry services which serve food to passengers, or they can buy some when the train makes a stop at a railway station. Needless to mention, you have to pay for these meals, including those served in the train, albeit at nominal prices.

However, there is one special train in India where food is served to passengers completely free of cost, that too throughout the entire journey. The train we are talking about is the Sachkhand Express (12715), where passengers are served hot meals through the entire trip, absolutely free.

The Sachkhand Express, which runs between Amritsar and Nanded, covering a total distance of 2,081 km, connecting two prominent religious destinations for Sikhs — Sri Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar and Sri Hazur Sahib in Nanded. Sachkand Express halts at 39 stations during its over 2,000 km long journey, and passengers are offered free meals at six of these stops.

The free food has been made possible due to a langar (community kitchen) which is served on the train since the last two decades. The train halts for a long enough period to allow passengers to receive food without any rush. The passengers aboard the train often bring their own utensils to receive langar which includes mouth-watering vegetarian meals such as kadhi-chawal, dal, and sabzi.

Notably, the train has a pantry of its own but no food is prepared there as the langar is served to every passenger, with an estimated 2,000 people receiving free meals every day.

The free langar was started around 20 years ago in 1995 and has served millions of passengers ever since.