Irish Rail has finally brought back the tea trolley service after three long years.
It made the announcement via Twitter this morning.
☕️ 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 #ComingSoon pic.twitter.com/VM5V0yr2OW
— Iarnród Éireann (@IrishRail) April 11, 2023
Snacks and drinks will be available on limited services between Cork and Dublin from this week.
There is just one South East stop on that line, which is in Thurles, Co. Tipperary.
Irish Rail says it will be on all services between Cork and Dublin from later this month.
The tea trolley had originally stopped due to the pandemic and was not brought back due to "costs and staffing issues" despite numerous appeals from passengers.
Earlier this year, Irish Rail had been engaged in a procurement process for catering services across its entire Intercity network, which would include the Waterford-Dublin and Wexford-Dublin lines
An Iarnród Éireann spokesperson said at the time: “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.”
They continued: "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."
Vending machines will also be piloted on selected trains, which aim to complement rather than replace the trolley service.
