Iarnród Éireann has announced a pilot catering trolley service on selected trains on the Dublin Heuston to Galway route from next Monday, August 24, operated by Irish company Sambos.ie
Some trolley services will be provided on services over the coming days in advance of the roll-out of the full pilot scheme.
The pilot will run for six months on a commercial basis – ie, without Public Service Obligation (PSO ) funding - to help determine the potential viability of such a service on the Intercity network.
Catering services have been provided solely on the Dublin to Cork and Dublin to Belfast routes since May 2023, within the PSO funding envelope currently available under Iarnród Éireann’s contract with the National Transport Authority.
Iarnród Éireann said it has undertaken extensive market engagement to identify solutions which may enable on-board catering to be provided more extensively on the Intercity network, on a commercial basis, in response to customer demand.
The pilot trolley service will initially be provided on three services each way daily on the Dublin/Galway route as follows:
Monday to Saturday
07.35 Heuston/Galway* 11.05 Galway/Heuston
09.25 Heuston/Galway 13.05 Galway/Heuston
11.30 Heuston/Galway 15.05 Galway/Heuston
(*Fridays only – change at Athlone ).
Sunday
08.00 Heuston/Galway 11.00 Galway/Heuston
10.30 Heuston/Galway 13.40 Galway/Heuston
11.40 Heuston/Galway 15.00 Galway/Heuston
The pilot could potentially extend to more services and other routes during the course of the scheme.
“We know how much our customers value an on-board catering service, and with record demand for our train services, we appreciate that it has been frustrating that it has been limited to Dublin to Cork (also benefiting most Limerick and Kerry customers ) and Dublin to Belfast routes over recent years,” a spokesperson for Iarnród Éireann said in a statement.
“We will undertake this pilot with Sambos.ie to help determine the potential for more extensive catering operation on a commercial basis, which will be decided upon completion of the pilot, in consultation with the NTA.”
