This Is The Only Train In India Where You Never Have To Pay For Your Meals

If you have ever travelled by train, you know the routine: packing homemade food, waiting for the pantry guy to show up, or scrolling through apps to order biryani to your seat. Train meals usually come at a price, and more often than not, passengers prefer to carry their own food. Now what if we told you there is a train in India where you don't have to pay a single rupee for your meal, no matter where you are seated? It is real and it has been happening for almost three decades.

The Indian Train Where Meals Are Free

The Sachkhand Express is a one-of-a-kind train that runs between Nanded in Maharashtra and Amritsar in Punjab. Every passenger here is served free food, cooked and distributed by volunteers as part of the Sikh tradition of langar (community kitchen). The food isn't from Indian Railways' kitchens, it is prepared in nearby Gurudwaras and brought onboard by volunteers.

Connecting two of Sikhism's most sacred cities, Hazur Sahib Gurudwara in Nanded and the Golden Temple in Amritsar, this train covers nearly 2,000 kilometres over 33 hours. At 39 stations along the route, including Parbhani, Jalna, Aurangabad, Bhopal, New Delhi, and Marathwada, the train halts for volunteers to serve langar- hot, home-cooked food for everyone aboard.

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How It Works

This tradition has been going strong for over 29 years. Meals are funded entirely through donations to Gurudwaras, where they are freshly prepared and loaded onto the train during its scheduled stops.

The menu includes simple dishes like kadhi-chawal, chole, dal, khichdi, and aloo-patta gobhi or other seasonal vegetables. Passengers are encouraged to carry their own utensils or tiffin boxes for convenience and hygiene.

About The Sachkhand Express

The Sachkhand Express (Train No. 12715/12716) is a daily superfast train operated by the South Central Railway. The train passes through Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, and Punjab, making nearly 37-39 halts along the way. It uses LHB coaches, includes multiple travel classes like AC 2-Tier, AC 3-Tier, Sleeper, and General, and is hauled end-to-end by a WAP-7 electric locomotive.

At first glance, the Sachkhand Express looks like any other Indian train, slightly worn out from years of service, echoing with chai calls and station chatter. Once the langar begins, it transforms into something much more meaningful.