Treat trolley returning for Laois rail users

Laois rail commuters will soon be able to avail of onboard coffee, tea and snacks as catering returns in April.  

It comes as Iarnród Éireann/Irish Rail has confirmed that it will resume onboard catering services from early April, on the Cork to Dublin route which services Laois.

Laois rail users have been without the much valued service for a number of years, although many have always prefered to bring their own provisions on rail journeys.   

Catering services were stopped when Covid restrictions were introduced in February 2020. When restrictions were lifted, the previous provider RailGourmet, were not in a position to resume services due to costs and staffing issues, and withdrew from the contract in May 2022 leaving Laois rail users without a service.

Now Iarnród Éireann says Carriage Food Services will provide a trolley service on selected services on the Cork to Dublin route from early April, building to all Cork-Dublin services within weeks. They are also planning to trial some vending machine options on trains. 

With Cork to Dublin also serving the vast majority of customers travelling to/from Kerry (changing at Mallow) and Limerick (changing at Limerick Junction), Iarnród Éireann says 50 percent of Intercity customers will have on-board catering available, including Dublin-Belfast Enterprise.

In time, Iarnród Éireann says it will proceed with a full procurement process for catering services across the InterCity network and progress a pilot for catering vending machines on selected trains. 

If successful, vending machines would be introduced alongside onboard trolley services. 

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“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 with this interim provision. We also believe that the success of the interim service will ensure that some of the inflated costs being quoted for full catering provision across our Intercity network will be reduced through the full procurement process,” an Iarnród Éireann spokesperson said.