According to a tweet of an email that appears to come from Iarnród Eireann, Rail Gourmet, the company who ran the snack trollys on Irish trains, will be unable to resume services.

According to the email this is chiefly to do with staffing issues and ‘signifigant additional costs’. We assume they mean the rising inflation that is hitting many businesses. As a result, Rail Courmet has seen their contract teminated by Iarnród Eireann.

Snack services will remin suspened in the Intercity network. However, snacks on the Dublin Belfast Enterprise Train will not be affected. These are supplied by Corperate Catering Services Limited, who seem to have not encountered the same issues as Rail Gourmet.

The news comes in the wake of the governement announcement that the lower rate of nine per cent VAT for the hospitality and tourism sector has been extended until early next year. All of this means that it’s unlikely you’ll be able to get a cup of tea and a pack of Tayto on the train to Cork before 2023.

👀 pic.twitter.com/lChsiVrAiB

— Clodagh O'Leary (@cloleaf) May 16, 2022

According to their website Rail Gourmet (RG) is a proud part of SSP – ‘The Food Travel Experts’.
They state that they are ‘a leading provider of food, beverage and specialist solutions to the travel industry, and offer a one stop shop solution – from logistics and supply chain; concept, marketing and retail, to menu and product, technology and on-board service.’The company is also the holders of a Royal Warrant and the OBH Award for Catering Innovation 2018.

Elsewhere on Char: The Rise of Orange Chocolate