8-Mar-07 21:00 Dub-Cork
 

No catering service on this as per the display in Heuston, I can't actually ever remember them announcing their was any time I got it.

edit
Nor on the 5:15 this morning, there was an apology on the PA.

Every morning this week I have been harrassed by the trolley dollies and dudes.

This morning I could have done with the coffee and muffin but was there a trolley on the 08:20 to Westport.......................:mad:

Should there not be a more serious general discussion of rail catering? From many comments it seems to be atrocious and unreliable. Rail travel is generally priced at a premium over intercity bus travel. This is only sustainable if the quality of service (speed, punctuality, cleanliness, toilets and catering) are good enough. The last two items are where the train should score decisively.

Do the IE management not realise that winning market share must depend on things like catering, where some level of consistency is needed? Indeed insisting that catering covers its full costs (including all the overheads) might be short-sighted in commercial terms if catering brings in more passengers, whose marginal costs are close to zero.

It's wrong to blame outsourcing per se. The Enterprise has out-sourced catering and it seems to be quite good. Have IE made a hash of things in terms of chosing Rail Gourmet in the first place or in terms of specifying and enforcing a good contract with them?

Another IE management failure?

It's true. Rail Gourmet = Rail Rip Off Artists.

Bought one of these on the 18:25 Dublin - Waterford on Tuesday:


I thought I was going a bit mad - I priced them today as follows:
Local Tesco (Baggot Street): 73c
Local Spar (Merrion Row): 95c

The Rail Gourmet price: €1.75 :eek: :eek: :eek:

Absolutely shocking, and I didn't see a price list prior to purchase, unfortunately. Will not be buying again - I'll be visiting the shop or vending machine in Heuston for goodies prior to departure.

You saw a trolley on the CDE?!?!? wow miracles do happen....

Just as a matter of interest why do people still use catering on the train these days? Il admit i used to use it on occasion when it was affordable but since then ive just been going to the shops near whatever station im using. Foods always cheaper, usually tastier and i know im not getting ripped off! Catering on trains for me now is a luxury to be enjoyed abroad only, but why arent more people doing the same? Am i the only poor person out there?

Out our way it's no better.

Back when we had trains with dining carraiges (soon to be a distant memory :mad: ) there was never much use made of them as far as I remember, in fact the last time I made any serious effort to get food on the train, I went to where the carraige was to find it closed, but I also found a bunch of seats there, which were scarce elsewhere, so I took one, and on the journey (which had about an hour left) I saw about 7 or 8 people coming to the dining carraige, expecting to get something there but turning around on finding it closed.

Meanwhile, 3 wonderful Public Transport Professionals :rolleyes: were sitting around another 4-seater having a chat about football ...



Oslo sandwich bar FTW!

I've seen the trolly on the CDE loads of times. Ad for why I usually ate (past tense now) twas coz i was in first class and was waited on hand agus foot by the very fine and professional Pat. Dont know what became of him when they changed over but guys like him made rail travel what it was supposed to be - high end confort and relaxation. Not anymore, no siree!!! Today the intercity fleet is becoming a glorified bus, and mores the pity. Considering that soon every city in the country will be connected to Dublin by a road network as fast as the train you'd think they would have kept a few of the enhanced features, wouldn't you?

We did an article for Hospitality Magazine about this at their request but dont know if it ever saw the light of day.

I was in shock at paying 1.50 for a can of Coke on the Ballina-Dublin train a few weeks ago, decided to comfort myself with an impulse buy of a Kit-Kat, also 1.50.

On a side note, the girl behind the counter was friendly but slightly insane. Told my friend the coffee machine was out of order (she'd been messing around in the back when we got to the counter), then she said something unintelligible, disappeared in the back for about 3 seconds, and came out again with a cup of coffee, giggling madly. Seemed to find it hilarious that the machine had magically started working again.

Mind you, she seemed to find everything hilarious: my decision to buy a kit kat, and my counting out of the 1.50 in change both sent her into fits of giggles. Still, I suppose I'd be laughing at any eejit mad enough to pay IE catering prices.

I was utterly 'taken for a ride' on the TGV (France) recently. Ordered a coke in the bar over €4.00 !!!!!!

Rail Gourmet are generally very expensive for a generally lackluster service. South West Trains over here use them on their routes from London Waterloo, and they are very pricey for a basic offering of tea, coffee, sandwiches etc.

Rail Gourmet act for most mainline Train Operating Companies (GNER, Midland Mainline, Virgin etc) as a logistics and supply manager, but the products themselves are chosen and sold by the company itself, with only the supply chain being outsourced. Seems to work much better than when RG are given free reign.

you could spend that at 0 kmh in a bar in france too though.

They should get propper Logisticians in to do the job right on the Westport line. Last year it was hit or miss (Largely miss) whether or not there would be any stock in the shop, even then they would always run out of water.

I was on a Cork-Dublin train (the 17:30 on a Sunday, for those counting) and went up to the dining car around quarter past seven and it was closed down (without warning or notice), with the one staff member doing... something, I'm sure. He said it was closed because he had to change train at Heuston when he got in.

I asked the train host when she came by and she came back a while later saying he had to count his money. I really can't see how it'll take an hour to do that, even for the catering staff who are mostly more familiar with Polish zlotych, Latvian lats, or Lithuanian litas...

Same here on the 19:30 on Saturday night, board in Thurles about 10 minutes after leaving Thurles the buffet closed with no warning and the staff go home when it reaches Heuston so it wasn't the have to change trains routine. Regardless the 17:30 staff work back to Cork on the same train set as the 21:00

As for counting the cash, surely they just print out the register totals and take the cash tray with when they leave the train and hand it in to the office

Doesn't seem likely as they never use the register...

A cashier is usually meant to reconcile the theoretical and actual amounts, although such practices vary from enterprise (no pun) to enterprise.

New article and recommendations going up on new website shortly.

Don't forget to mention trolley catering on the railcars. On that point, will there be catering on 22000s?

Depends on three things

1. Rail Gourmet guys showing up (anywhere west of the Shannon is suspect)
2. You sit up the front so you have a chance to get something before they run out
3. You are willing to pay the high prices, Network Catering where far from cheap but Rail Gourmet pushed it to new levels

A packet of crisps
 

On the return train to Gorey via the 18:37 Rosslare train, When the trolley came around I bought a packet of crisps at €1.10 :eek: :eek: :eek:
Him: Tea/Coffee
Me: A packet of tayto crisps please
Him:Anything else
Me: No thanks
Him €1.10
Me:You What!
Him: Crazy i know,But thats how much they are
( At least he's honest )
Everytime I,m on the train he's "You what" He's a nice enough guy for a I.E staff member