Author: Bihar Say | Amrita |

“One train ride. One craving. And Bihar’s biggest food-tech journey began.”

Who Founded RailRestro? Meet Manish Chandra & Suman Priya

In 2015, Manish Chandra and Suman Priya, a husband-wife duo from Patna, Bihar, found themselves facing the same problem that millions of train passengers silently endure—a lack of hot, hygienic food while traveling. Instead of complaining, they decided to solve the problem themselves.

That decision gave birth to RailRestro, a tech-powered food delivery startup for Indian Railways. Over time, what started as a simple solution evolved into a national movement across thousands of trains and stations.

The Common Struggle: A Problem Too Familiar

Every Indian who’s taken a long-distance train knows the struggle—meals that are cold, tasteless, or unhygienic. While pantry food is often unreliable, stepping off at stations risks missing the train.

Manish and Suman—both frequent travelers—faced this every time. However, they realized that the solution wasn’t to wait for change, but to create it. After several brainstorming sessions during their own travels, they envisioned a service that could connect passengers to quality restaurants near train stations—bringing food directly to their seats.

A Humble Start: Tech, Tenacity & Trust

They officially launched RailRestro in September 2015, under their company Yescom India Softech Pvt. Ltd.. At first, the journey was anything but easy. For example, restaurant partners were hesitant, and integrating with IRCTC took effort. Nevertheless, their belief in the mission never faded.

Initially bootstrapped, the company began processing around 600 orders daily within just nine months. As they continued building trust, their network expanded rapidly, covering more trains and more stations across India.

Scaling Up: From 84,000 Orders to 60 Lakh+ Meals

With a customer-first approach, RailRestro grew fast. In their first year, they completed 84,000 orders. The next year, this rose to 4 lakh, and by 2019, they were delivering over 11 lakh meals annually.

By early 2021, despite COVID-19 setbacks, RailRestro had crossed 60 lakh+ total deliveries. Through smart tech, excellent vendor management, and constant adaptation, they reached passengers on 7000+ trains across India.

Moreover, they partnered with 2,100+ restaurants, all FSSAI-approved, ensuring high standards of hygiene and variety.

Going Beyond Food: Building a Travel Companion

Importantly, Manish and Suman didn’t stop at food. They built RailMitra, a sister platform offering live train running status, seat availability, PNR checks, and other tools—designed to simplify every step of the train journey.

Since network issues are common during travel, they also ensured their app and website work even in weak connectivity zones. In fact, RailRestro became one of the first to offer WhatsApp-based food ordering for travelers, making the process faster and more accessible.

Rooted in Bihar, Built for Bharat

What makes this story exceptional is where it started. From the lanes of Patna to thousands of train routes, RailRestro’s impact has been massive. They’ve delivered everything from pure Jain food to south Indian dishes, north Indian thalis, Chinese combos, beverages, and even baby food—right to people’s seats.

Despite the scale, they stayed grounded. They remained bootstrapped and focused on sustainability. As a result, they continue to grow not just as a company, but as a trusted rail-travel brand.

Their story is proof that Bihar isn’t just participating in India’s startup story—it’s shaping it.

Why RailRestro Matters More Than Ever

• Built on real pain points: No corporate strategy—just a need every Indian could relate to

• Tech-driven: Seamless ordering via app, website, calls, and WhatsApp

• Massive menu: From Jain to regional cuisine, all approved by FSSAI

• National reach: Operating at over 400+ stations in 375+ cities

This journey began with hunger, but runs on hustle.

RailRestro isn’t just about food—it’s about solving real-world problems with local insight and national ambition. It shows what happens when a simple idea meets relentless execution and rooted values.

📌 This story is part of the “60 Days – 60 Startups from Bihar” series by Bihar Say—where we uncover the real founders, raw journeys, and rising voices of Bihar’s startup ecosystem.

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