MUMBAI: Commuters will soon be able order meals over the phone while travelling in long distance trains and have it delivered at the next station, under a “book a meal” scheme that the Railways plans to implement by the year-end.Indian Railways’ move to improve its catering services will begin with the “book a meal” scheme. The Railway Board has asked all zonal railways to implement the scheme in three months. Under the scheme, a passenger can order a meal on certain mobile/telephone numbers in advance through an SMS.A senior official said, “If a passenger is travelling by a long distance train from Mumbai , he may want to have dinner when the train reaches Surat. He can order food an hour before the train reaches Surat. When the train reaches the station, the food will be distributed by the pantry team based on seat and coach number provided by the passenger.”In the western region, the scheme, which will be implemented at major junctions, is expected to be first introduced at stations like Kalyan, Pune, Baroda and Ahmedabad.The official said, “The mobile number will be widely publicised.” To avoid overcharging , rates of food items will be available through SMS. Commuters can book either a standard vegetarian or non-vegetarian lunch or dinner.“We are examining if a choice of deluxe lunch or dinner , which will have larger variety, can also be offered ,” the official said. Meals under this scheme will be cooked at base kitchens located at various stations and are expected to be fresher and more hygienic when compared with pantry car services . “It is tougher to prepare or conserve food in a moving train,” the official said. In fact, if the system proves to be successful the Railways may scrap with the attached pantry cars.For now, the Railways has also decided to improve the overall quality of pantry car services. The board has instructed that every pantry car should have a manager whose mobile number will be available in the commercial control office of the division. The manager will be responsible for all actions of the staff in the pantry car.