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Unread 20-04-2012, 08:13   #1
Sasha
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Default On Board Catering Services

Tender for Catering Services contract was published on the website for Public Tenders on April, 1, 2011. However, in the Iarnrod Eireann Contact Awards section still no information about qualifying company or companies who obtained contract.

Would does it mean, that present catering provider Rail Gourmet will continue to operate services on board?
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Unread 20-04-2012, 08:39   #2
Colm Moore
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The existing arrangement may have been X years + the option for Y years and the option may have been availed of.
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Unread 20-04-2012, 09:37   #3
Thomas Ralph
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I wonder if there will be a penalty per train that does not have the full advertised catering service available? There would be people looking for refunds over here if East Coast or Virgin didn't have the full offering for their first class passengers.
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Unread 20-04-2012, 10:42   #4
Thomas J Stamp
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as good an opportuinity as any to say that I personally beleive that not having a seperate catering car, with seats for catering customers, is a retrograde step for IE, and that also goes for having a proper first class section.

i say that because the train has to be a superior service and offering to the public than car,bus.plane. At the moment, most vividly with the 22k class, its a glorified bus service on a track.
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Unread 20-04-2012, 14:06   #5
Mark Gleeson
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Its only at tender stage, so the deadline to apply is after April first

You are looking at min 3 months from issue of notice to award

I understand Rail Gourmet had a 5 year contract
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Unread 20-04-2012, 15:15   #6
dowlingm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Thomas J Stamp View Post
as good an opportuinity as any to say that I personally beleive that not having a seperate catering car, with seats for catering customers, is a retrograde step for IE, and that also goes for having a proper first class section.

i say that because the train has to be a superior service and offering to the public than car,bus.plane. At the moment, most vividly with the 22k class, its a glorified bus service on a track.
+1,000,000. Add to that having proper first class facilities at terminal stations with 1st Class trains. I doubt of stations like Waterford, Limerick, Galway etc there aren't many that couldn't manage even a small 25ft x 20ft area like you would find in Kingston or London (including a facility to obtain a wifi password like at the main Dublin termini) and the Heuston and Connolly ones should aspire to this quality.
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Unread 21-04-2012, 09:29   #7
Colm Moore
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There previous tenders seem to have gone for a 3-year contract with a 2-year option.

http://www.etenders.gov.ie/search/sh...x?ID=FEB053581
http://www.etenders.gov.ie/search/sh...x?ID=OCT004623

They don't seem to have published previous contract notices, just the tender notices.
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Unread 22-04-2012, 21:08   #8
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Probably, R.G. got contract for another few years as last tender notice was published in April 2011.
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Unread 08-05-2012, 20:09   #9
The King
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Default Rail catering

Whats the general thought on he Catering service offered by rail gourmet
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Unread 26-05-2012, 12:37   #10
Jamie2k9
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What do people think of the new onboard menu which started this week. They have increased certain prices and the food on offer is horrible particualy the sandwhices. We all know when they changed snadwhich companys before they moved back within weeks. The trolly person said he had a lot of complaints already. I will not be be buying anything onboard until the old products come back which they will in weeks.
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Unread 27-05-2012, 12:36   #11
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The quality has not been as good since around the time the Mark 4 fleet deployed. A fiver for the sandwiches they sell is absurd.
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Unread 27-05-2012, 19:00   #12
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Question. Has anybody ever questioned R.G's license to sell alcohol. Aren't they obliged to show it too?
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Unread 27-05-2012, 20:06   #13
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They don't need one, see section 14 (d), Intoxicating Liquor Act 1927.
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Unread 28-05-2012, 07:07   #14
James Howard
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Just vote with your feet. I generally bring my own coffee in the morning. If I feel like a coffee on the way home, AMT in Connolly station is excellent. This works for me as I only have a 90 minute journey but it may not necessarily work for longer journeys.

Personally, I would like to see proper catering services on the train but they used to have it years ago on the Sligo line and nobody used it. The trolley service is adequate for the length of journey.

And the reality of it is that if you have a dedicated catering car, you have a 2 million euro investment that needs to pay for itself let alone pay for staffing and stock. I would think that everything apart from tea and coffee (and possibly alcohol) is a loss-leader on the current service.

Perhaps there could be some way that they could be a bit innovative with an airplane-style galley for preparing ready meals or hot sandwiches, but they would probably fall foul of food-safety regulations where you need separate hand-washing and dish-washing sinks in a hot food preparation area.
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Unread 28-05-2012, 09:42   #15
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Should be doable with a bit of lateral thinking. Virgin's class 221s and 390s over here have microwavable food to sell hot in the onboard shops.

I don't know if there's a market for it on any of the ex-Connolly services besides the Enterprise, however.

The real shame was the dismembering of catering provision on the Cork trains. They used turn over a 34-seat dining car three times on a breakfast train (complete with steward who could remember 34 breakfast orders in his head!)
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Unread 28-05-2012, 12:26   #16
Thomas J Stamp
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The King View Post
Whats the general thought on he Catering service offered by rail gourmet
oh not here too.... when is your assignment due in again?
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Unread 28-05-2012, 16:32   #17
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Much though we regret change in these areas, rail catering in these islands is a shadow of what it was twenty years ago. I do not think this is necessarily IE's fault but reflective of wider changes. There is a multiplicity of catering outlets in and around the major stations. People prefer to "picnic" all day long rather than expect the railway to provide a full meal service (with the possible exception of breakfast). The Cork service today provides frequency; the road takes around the same time and the "characters" who predominated on the 0730 to Dublin and 1720 to Cork have retired, died or drive and that would apply equally to the many wonderful staff members on that service. The current offering across the network is probably as good as it gets.
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