In those days the general populace wasn't particularly well off, so most couldn't afford the biandang on top of ticket price, and the meals themselves were somewhat lacking in terms of packaging and presentation.
當時老百姓的生活普遍不富裕，能夠吃得起鐵路便當的人並不太多，台鐵便當的包裝也不講究；從民國三十八年到五十八年這段時間，台鐵便當都是採用木片盒裝置，吃完就丟棄。