Re: Catering on trains (was: East Coast rail franchise to be renationalised)


"Willms" <l.willms@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:czd2LKcn8EGd-pn2-OtdSd4zdLRx6@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Am Tue, 6 Oct 2009 02:13:13 UTC, schrieb "DW downunder" <noname> auf
uk.railway :

I wonder if airline style systems would be more appropriate these days,

What do you think of as "arline style" being different from the
restaurant or bistro cars found on modern trains?

Serving all people at the same time, or what?


Cheers,
L.W.

---------------------------------------------------------------
recommended reading about Iran
<http://babakzahraie.blogspot.com/2009/06/whither-iran.html>

Willms, you sometimes come over as arrogant in your posts. Perhaps it's a result of German thinking expressed in this mongrel utilitarian language called "English".

Airline food, prepared in advance, and heated and plated under strict guidelines by on-board staff, then served at the passenger's seat is a very different proposition to what you describe.

Bistro or buffet service (essentially catering on demand), and catering trolleys (optional purchases) of course may utilise similar technologies (except that microwave reheating may also be an available technology) but demand is not managed, and so it's hard for staff to maintain consistent quality and achieve rapid service.

But the context is Restaurant Cars. These are on-train restuarant facilities that better funded British passengers may wish to patronise - where there are menu options and meals are prepared and plated to order, and served in a dedicated part of the train. Now AFAIK, apart from the early German airships (with Hydrogen bouyancy gas as a safety feature) and the latest Euro-decker of the skies, the A380, most commercial aircraft do NOT have a restaurant area.

But I am suggesting that if cost and margin is an issue, the Interim operater consider the same highly structured, closely managed approach as the airlines use. Of course, quality does vary. I had the pleasure of an upgrade on a 747 domestic flight PER-MEL; and believe me, there was no basis for adverse comment about the beautiful Barramundi dish I was served with Middle-eastern flavours. In steerage, OTOH, accountants rule and the content can be a little underwhelming.

I also indicated in another thread that facilities like meal service and WiFi support aren't there to make a profit in their own right, but serve as part of the overall marketing of the Brand and of the specific product (express train service between A and B). In retail, such product lines are understood as: "loss leaders" - to get customers into the store - once there, impulse purchases at higher margins are intended to balance out the financial consequences of the "loss leader" lines.

DW downunder

.

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