Catering trolley to be restored on certain Offaly trains from next week

Irish Rail has announced the return of catering trolleys on certain train services along the Dublin to Galway line for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020.

The catering trolley is to be restored initially on three daily services each way on the Dublin to Galway route, which serves Tullamore and Clara, from this coming Monday, August 24.

The catering service is to be provided as part of a six-month commercial pilot, Irish Rail said, and it will be operated by Irish company Sambos.ie.

"Some trolley services will be provided on services over the coming days in advance of the pilot commencing, for staff familiarisation purposes," Irish Rail said in a statement.

"The pilot will be for a six-month period, on a commercial basis without Public Service Obligation (PSO) funding to help determine the potential viability of such a service on the Intercity network."

The Dublin to Galway services on which the trolley service is due to operate initially, from Monday to Saturdays, are the 7.35, 9.25 and 11.30 trains from Dublin to Galway, and the 11.05, 1.05 and 3.05 services from Galway to the capital.

On Sundays, the 8am, 10.30am and 11.40am services from Dublin to Galway will have catering, as will the 11am, 1.40pm and 3pm trains from Galway to Dublin's Heuston station.

Irish Rail said there will be potential to extend this to more services and other routes during the course of the pilot.

A spokesperson for Iarnród Éireann said: "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.

"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 National Transport Authority (NTA)."