Mayo hopes raised as trolley service returns on Galway-Dublin trains
Trolley services will be temporarily reinstated on selected trains running between Dublin and Galway.
Mayo passengers could be one step closer to having catering restored on the Dublin rail line following Iarnród Éireann’s announcement of a six-month trial on the Dublin-Galway route.
Starting from Monday, August 24, a commercial pilot catering trolley service will begin on selected Dublin Heuston to Galway services, with Irish company Sambos.ie managing the trial.
Iarnród Éireann said the trial will run on a commercial basis, without Public Service Obligation funding, to assess the long-term viability of reintroducing the service across the network.
The pilot scheme will operate seven days a week across three trains going in each direction on the Galway to Dublin route.
From Monday to Saturday, catering will be available on the 7:35am, 9:25am and 11:30am services from Dublin Heuston to Galway Ceannt Station, as well as the 11:05am, 1:05pm and 3:05pm services from Galway to Dublin.
On Sunday, the service will be available on the 8am, 10:30am and 11:40am trains from Dublin to Galway, and the 11am, 1:40pm and 3pm services from Galway to Dublin.
Posting on social media this morning, Iarnród Éireann shared a photo of the trolley on a trial run ahead of the pilot starting on Monday. The trolley was on the 7.35am Dublin Heuston to Westport service before disembarking at Athlone to transfer onto the connecting train to Galway.
Fine Gael TD Keira Keogh, who has been campaigning for the reintroduction of on-board catering, welcomed the announcement, saying the issue is one that her constituents regularly contact her about.
“It is disappointing that the Mayo to Dublin line wasn’t chosen for the six-month pilot that is starting next week, but there is scope for expansion, and I will keep advocating for catering for Mayo constituents and the tourists that use the line,” she said.
“I have been raising the importance of catering on the train since being elected, and I will continue to do so until we are back having our Barry’s tea, sandwich and a bag of Tayto coming through Manulla Junction.”
Fine Gael’s Seanad spokesperson for Transport, Mark Duffy, also welcomed the pilot, saying the announcement shows that Iarnród Éireann is listening to its passengers.
However, he added that demand for on-board catering will not disappear when the six-month trial ends, and said the expansion of catering services should not hinge on the outcome of a single pilot.
“The demand for catering on our Intercity network is well established at this stage. Whatever the pilot tells us about Galway, the demand across the network isn’t going to go away. There needs to be continued investment in these services, which should be treated as a basic need while travelling across the country,” he said.
The trolley service was suspended in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic and has yet to be reinstated across the wider rail network.
At present, an on-board trolley service operates on all Dublin to Cork services. On the Dublin-Belfast Enterprise service, catering is available on some trains, while others operate with an on-board trolley service, depending on the time of travel.
