Irish Rail has announced the return of its catering services after three years.
Commuters were left heartbroken after the food trolley facility was shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. However, the service is finally set to resume later this month — only there's a catch.
On-board catering will be available on the Cork to Dublin route and only on a limited number of services. Irish Rail added that the food trolley will operate for staff training purposes.
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An Irish Rail spokesperson said on Twitter: "With on-board catering resuming on the Cork to Dublin route later this month, please note there will be catering services available on a limited number of services on the Cork to Dublin route this week, operating for staff training purposes."
When asked when the service will be rolled out on other routes, they said: "There is no set return date for catering onboard any other services currently."
The new service will be provided by Carriage Food Services and customers will be able to purchase hot drinks, snacks and sandwiches from the trolley. Last month, Irish Rail Corporate Communications Manager Barry Kenny said passengers may have to wait until early 2024 for the full return of the trolley service.
He told Newstalk: "It will be next month for the Cork to Dublin route - that obviously benefits Limerick and Kerry lines as well. We're doing a full tender then for the national network. I've got to be honest with you: you're looking at early 2024 for that".
He added that Irish Rail "would have loved" to reintroduce the service straight away on all routes but "unfortunately it wasn't possible within the funding we had".
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