Swiggy has expanded its Food on Train service to 180 cities across India, riding strong demand from railway travellers as orders on the platform surged 3x year-on-year in the first quarter of FY27.
The company said the service witnessed significant growth during the summer travel season, driven by expanding network coverage, rising digital adoption in smaller towns and new features such as Scan your Ticket, which allows users to upload their train ticket and automatically fetch the PNR to place food orders.
Multi-station orders gain traction
Swiggy said multi-station journeys, where passengers order food at two or more stations during the same trip, grew by more than 300% year-on-year. These travellers spent nearly 2.2 times more than passengers ordering at a single station.
The Bhopal–Nagpur route emerged as the most popular two-stop food trail, with over 1,300 passengers placing orders at both stations on the same booking.
The platform also added 17 new railway stations this summer, including Gurugram, Udaipur, Bikaner, Davanagere, Kayamkulam, Nanded, Amravati, Shoranur, Arrah, Tadpatri and Nizamabad. Swiggy said many customers booked meals up to four days in advance of their journey.
First-time users drive growth
The company said the service is helping introduce food delivery to new users, particularly in smaller towns. At Guna, 66% of Food on Train orders came from first-time Swiggy customers.
Swiggy added that India Rise towns recorded 253% year-on-year growth, significantly outpacing metro markets, highlighting growing digital adoption beyond large cities.
Summer favourites
Travellers ordered more than 4 lakh rotis during the summer, making it the most-ordered food item on the platform. Other popular dishes included Masala Dosa, Aloo Paratha, McAloo Tikki Burger, while Chicken Biryani topped the non-vegetarian category.
Among beverages, Mango Shake emerged as the standout summer favourite, with orders rising nearly 10 times compared with winter. Orders for soft drinks climbed 354%, ice cream rose 140%, while lassi doubled.
Student travel boosts demand
Swiggy Vice President – Food Strategy, Customer Experience & New Initiatives Deepak Maloo said, “Food on Train has witnessed exponential growth in the last one year and the last quarter has been no different, with a 3x YoY growth in orders. It is heartening to see the growth and consumer love for this offering across the country, with customers also booking their meals well in advance.”
He added that the platform is seeing increasing adoption even in tier-4 towns, while university hubs have become key growth drivers. Student orders surged 70% during the last week of May, with Kharagpur, Kanpur and Aligarh recording the highest demand as students returned to campuses.
Regional preferences
Swiggy said food choices reflected India’s regional diversity. Travellers in northern India preferred rotis, curries, parathas and burgers, while Nellore saw dosas account for more than 14% of all food items ordered. Vijayawada remained a biryani stronghold, with nearly one in five items ordered being biryani.
In eastern India, passengers favoured thalis and rice bowls, while at Madgaon Junction on the Konkan route, burgers overtook biryani as the most-ordered dish.
Among restaurant brands, Haldiram’s, Paradise Biryani, A2B – Adyar Ananda Bhavan, McDonald’s and KFC emerged as the most preferred choices among railway travellers.