Catering services have resumed on selected Cork to Dublin route services
21 April 2023
Full tender process for national network to proceed, and vending machine trials to be pursued
Iarnród Éireann has said that, following in-service training trials over recent days, catering services have now resumed on selected services on the Cork to Dublin route.
The service will build to all trains on the Cork to Dublin route over the coming weeks, as the new catering provider, Irish company Carriage Foods Services Limited completes recruitment.
Trolley-service catering is now available on the following service on the Cork to Dublin route:
Mondays to Saturdays:
- Dublin Heuston to Cork: 07:00, 08:00, 11:00, 13:00
- Cork to Dublin Heuston: 07:00, 09:25, 10:25, 11:25
Sundays:
- Dublin Heuston to Cork: 10:00, 12:00, 14:00
- Cork to Dublin Heuston: 08:25, 10:25, 13:25
Subsequent phases:
The service will build throughout the month of May, until all 29 weekday train services on the Cork to Dublin route have on-board catering, as well as all 20 Sunday services.
With Cork to Dublin also serving the vast majority of customers travelling to/from Kerry (changing at Mallow) and Limerick (changing at Limerick Junction), 50% of Intercity customers will have on-board catering available, including Dublin-Belfast Enterprise (operated by Corporate Catering Services Ltd, a sister company of Carriage Foods.
In tandem, Iarnród Éireann will:
- proceed with a full procurement process for catering services across the InterCity network
- progress a pilot for catering vending machines on selected trains. If successful and progressed further, vending machines would be intended to be complementary to on-board trolley services
- work to identify further opportunities to enhance station retail and catering facilities
An Iarnród Éireann spokesperson said “we have been as keen as our customers to see on-board catering resume, and are delighted to be in a position to do so on the Cork to Dublin route. We look forward to our customers enjoying the new service, and to working with our catering provider Carriage Foods in delivering it.”
Background
Catering services were suspended arising from COVID-19 restrictions for two years from February 2020 to February 2022. Upon the lifting of face covering regulations in February 2022, the company sought a restoration of services from the previous supplier RailGourmet. Ultimately, RailGourmet were not in a position to resume services due to costs and staffing issues, and withdrew from the contract in May 2022.
Since then, Iarnród Éireann has engaged extensively with market providers to restore an on-board service. Unfortunately, costs and staffing issues resulted in providers quoting prices to Iarnród Éireann of many multiples of the previous contract to restore full services. Within Iarnród Éireann’s current funding profile, and under public procurement regulations, this was not possible to achieve. Iarnród Éireann then engaged with suppliers on interim, partial options to conform with funding and procurement requirements.
While a partial service across all routes was considered, the requirement for multiple catering base facilities and a more dispersed workforce across all routes again saw this exceed available funding. The interim measure of resuming Cork to Dublin on-board catering ensures that we maximise the number of customers who can avail of catering within the funding profile and procurement regulations.