This paper mainly investigates the thermal comfort of the kitchen in pantry cars on Indian railways in two seasons (summer and winter) and two climatic zones (humid and subtropical climate zone and tropical wet and dry climate zone). A questionnaire survey on subjective feelings of thermal comfort was conducted among 69 chefs working in 14 kitchens of pantry cars on Indian railways. Their physical parameters of thermal comfort were also measured. Based on the survey results and measured data, the authors analyzed the comfort perception and thermal responses of the chefs in the kitchens, with the aid of indices like predicted mean vote (PMV) and predicted percentage dissatisfied (PPD). The results show that outdoor environmental parameters have an effect on indoor environmental parameters during the cooking; the maximum range of thermal comfort parameters was found at lunch and snack preparations, while the minimum was observed at breakfast; the PMV/PPD index method does not apply directly to the evaluation of thermal comfort in the kitchen in pantry cars on railways; the neutral temperature of chefs in summer and winter was 23°C and 21.62°C, respectively. These findings help to improve the indoor working environment of chefs on Indian railways.

Plenty of research studies in thermal comfort have been conducted in varied areas viz. schoolrooms and houses, industrial workplaces. However, limited studies have been witnessed in areas of commercial kitchens such as hotels, restaurants, and hostel mess kitchen. Current studies pertaining to thermal comfort have been organized into two different types of railway pantry cars kitchen available in India, between August and September 2018. The chef's activities are almost identical in these two pantry cars, but the insulation value of the clothing is slightly different, then it is a curiosity to know that their comfort temperature is the same or different. A little different sum of chefs (respondents) comfort in the research of each pantry car kitchens. In both pantry car kitchen, similar monitoring equipment was used. An implication of this study demonstrates that chef's comfort temperatures and comfort range of temperature were found to be similar in both the pantry car kitchen. While it has also been found that the comfort temperature value of both types of pantry car kitchen chef's is slightly less than the value of the comfort temperature on the comfort study in different areas.

There are ample literature studies available, focusing on hot-humid built environment, which have achieved an increase in thermal comfort conditions by proper installation of ventilation-systems. The present thermal comfort study has been carried out in the kitchen environment of a non-air-conditioned railway pantry car in Indian Railways. The purpose is to enhance thermal comfort level under the currently applied ventilation system inside the kitchen of pantry car by determining the standard effective temperature (SET) index. During the summer and winter seasons, a field study was carried out to obtain the value of air temperature, globe temperature, relative humidity, and air velocity inside the pantry car for estimation of the SET index. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was used to obtain a better-modified case model of the pantry car kitchen for the improvement of thermal comfort. The design interventions for the pantry car kitchen were created, with emphasis on increasing energy efficiency based on low-power consumption air ventilation system. The study results indicated that, modified case-I model has a better ventilation design concept as compare to the existing and other models, which increased the air velocity and significantly decreased the air temperature inside the kitchen of pantry car at all cooking periods. A value of SET (28.6–30℃) was found with a comfortable thermal sensation within all cooking periods, which is better for the pantry car workers. This finding suggests a sustainable improvement in the thermal environment of the "non-air-conditioned" pantry car kitchen in the Indian Railways, which can be applied immediately.

In an indoor kitchen environment, proper installation of supplying air system is essential for maintaining optimal human thermal comfort level. Current thermal comfort investigation has been accomplished during "various cooking periods (breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner)" inside the air-conditioned kitchen environment of railway pantry car in India. The study goals to improve thermal comfort inside the pantry kitchen by implementing proper installation of the supply air system. A field experiment and computational fluid dynamics approach has been carried out during the summer season. Also, standard effective temperature (SET) index was utilized to determine the thermal comfort status. Three proposed design modified cases of pantry cars (based on supplying air system concepts) have been executed followed by validation and comparison with the existing case model. Results revealed modified Case III as a better design concept (indicating better air supply circulation and temperature decrease at the desired location) compared to the existing and other two proposed cases. Simultaneously, the SET index range was 26.5-28.6°C; indicating "comfortable thermal sensation throughout the cooking period." This study's outcomes suggest improvements in thermal comfort and energy savings of "airconditioned" pantry car kitchens in "Indian Railways" that could be referred directly.

Hot stressful work conditions impose subsequent suppressions on workers' wellbeing resulting in heat-related morbidities, reduced productivity, and economic burden. Heat stress evaluations require costly monitoring tools that may be uneconomical while monitoring multiple locations simultaneously under the targeted workplace, especially in industrially developing countries. With recent technological