Train GraphicClick on the map to explore geographics
 
I need help
FAQ
Emergency
About .
Travel & transport from BBC stories as at 21:35 21 Apr 2025
 
- Passengers evacuate Delta plane after engine fire
- Gatwick worst for delays among UK airports
Read about the forum [here].
Register [here] - it's free.
What do I gain from registering? [here]
 10/05/25 - BRTA Westbury
10/05/25 - Model Railway Show, Calne
13/05/25 - Melksham TUG / AGM
14/05/25 - West Wiltshire RUG

On this day
21st Apr (1958)
Battery Multiple Unit enters public service (link)

Train RunningCancelled
16:50 Penzance to Cardiff Central
17:50 Penzance to London Paddington
20:06 Westbury to Cheltenham Spa
20:23 Swansea to London Paddington
20:31 Swindon to Worcester Shrub Hill
20:38 Didcot Parkway to London Paddington
20:56 Worcester Foregate Street to London Paddington
20:59 Cheltenham Spa to London Paddington
21:00 London Paddington to Plymouth
21:10 Weston-Super-Mare to Bristol Parkway
21:15 London Paddington to Oxford
21:22 Reading to Basingstoke
21:30 Basingstoke to Reading
21:36 Reading to Gatwick Airport
21:37 St Ives to St Erth
21:37 Bedwyn to Newbury
21:38 Maidenhead to Marlow
21:44 Didcot Parkway to Reading
21:46 Bristol Temple Meads to Severn Beach
21:46 Twyford to Henley-On-Thames
21:56 Newbury to Reading
21:57 Newbury to Bedwyn
22:01 Henley-On-Thames to Twyford
22:01 Oxford to London Paddington
22:04 Marlow to Maidenhead
22:05 Reading to Basingstoke
22:08 Newbury to Reading
22:10 Reading to Newbury
22:10 Weston-Super-Mare to Bristol Temple Meads
22:13 Basingstoke to Reading
22:16 Cheltenham Spa to Swindon
22:21 Reading to Didcot Parkway
22:25 Bedwyn to Newbury
22:26 Reading to Basingstoke
22:30 St Erth to St Ives
22:30 London Paddington to Bedwyn
22:38 Basingstoke to Reading
22:40 Severn Beach to Bristol Temple Meads
22:47 Newbury to Bedwyn
22:47 Newbury to Reading
22:48 St Ives to Penzance
22:52 Reading to Basingstoke
22:53 Didcot Parkway to Reading
22:58 Basingstoke to Reading
23:07 Oxford to London Paddington
23:17 Bedwyn to Reading
23:22 Gatwick Airport to Reading
23:23 Basingstoke to Reading
23:30 Cardiff Central to Bristol Temple Meads
23:34 Reading to Basingstoke
Additional 23:36 Westbury to Bristol Temple Meads
23:42 Swindon to Cheltenham Spa
23:45 Bristol Temple Meads to Frome
22/04/25 00:05 Basingstoke to Reading
Short Run
16:00 London Paddington to Penzance
17:00 London Paddington to Penzance
17:37 London Paddington to Carmarthen
18:00 Cardiff Central to Penzance
18:00 London Paddington to Penzance
18:24 Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff Central
18:30 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour
18:30 London Paddington to Plymouth
19:00 Cardiff Central to Penzance
19:00 London Paddington to Plymouth
19:04 Paignton to London Paddington
19:23 Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff Central
19:28 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour
19:45 Great Malvern to London Paddington
20:00 Cardiff Central to Taunton
20:00 London Paddington to Plymouth
20:24 Exmouth to Cardiff Central
20:29 Gatwick Airport to Reading
20:30 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour
20:59 Cardiff Central to Bristol Temple Meads
21:30 Cardiff Central to Frome
22:00 Cardiff Central to Bristol Temple Meads
22:00 Hereford to London Paddington
22:30 Cardiff Central to Bristol Temple Meads
etc
PollsThere are no open or recent polls
Abbreviation pageAcronymns and abbreviations
Stn ComparatorStation Comparator
Rail newsNews Now - live rail news feed
Site Style 1 2 3 4
Next departures • Bristol Temple MeadsBath SpaChippenhamSwindonDidcot ParkwayReadingLondon PaddingtonMelksham
Exeter St DavidsTauntonWestburyTrowbridgeBristol ParkwayCardiff CentralOxfordCheltenham SpaBirmingham New Street
April 21, 2025, 21:52:54 *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Forgotten your username or password? - get a reminder
Most recently liked subjects
[108] Fortuitous connections ... and an App which fails to offer the...
[93] Firstgroup's rail division trading 'ahead of expectations'
[77] Eyesight rules for motorists unsafe, says coroner
[64] RNLI station celebrates 10 years of saving lives - Portishead,...
[56] Yeovil Railway Centre - South chord project
[53] Every way to travel between Devon/Cornwall to London rated
 
News: A forum for passengers ... with input from rail professionals welcomed too
 
   Home   Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Pages: [1]
  Print  
Author Topic: Catering at stations - blip, thinning out, or chance of a new start?  (Read 1430 times)
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 43864



View Profile WWW Email
« on: July 19, 2020, 05:50:31 »

From Examiner live ...

Quote
A couple who have been running a cafe at Huddersfield Railway Station for the past 15 years say they may have to quit unless trade picks up fast.

Geraldine and Chris Smith have run the Station Buffet on Platform 4 since 2005 and say passenger numbers are a fraction of what they were pre-lockdown.

Quote
And they are not alone. Coffee Room, a national chain, serving light snacks and drinks has yet to reopen and may never do so.

While Darryl Townend and his wife Angela who have run Newstrack, a once-popular convenience store close to Platform 1, since 1989 also bemoan the lack of trade.

A story from "up North".  Is that repeated across GWR (Great Western Railway)-land?

The article goes on to share one of the operator's goes comments:

Quote
And they say the situation is not helped by advice asking passengers not to drink or eat on the trains.

I think I have seen a subtle difference here - with GWR suggesting that if you're headed for a long journeys on which you'll need food and drink, buy before you board.

Are we going to see a massive thinning out of catering offerings in the new normal, a resurgence of venues in spite of current concerns, or a wave of new businesses starting in the territory left by those who cease trading?   Is now a good time to be planning a catering operation at a station?

Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, TravelWatch SouthWest Board Member
TaplowGreen
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 8619



View Profile
« Reply #1 on: July 19, 2020, 08:19:10 »

Upper Crust, which was a staple of railway station catering is in rapid decline and other similar outlets are struggling.

I guess if the larger concessions go, it may open up opportunities for courageous individuals to fill their places, but again I guess it all depends on to what extent the world of travel, and especially rail travel changes/recovers post COVID.

DfT» (Department for Transport - about) figures currently show rail travel at 18% of pre covid levels and bus travel (outside London) at 31%. Road travel by contrast is at 84%.
Logged
Lee
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 7519


GBR - The Emperor's New Rail Network


View Profile WWW
« Reply #2 on: July 19, 2020, 09:02:30 »

Is now a good time to be planning a catering operation at a station?

No.
Logged

Vous devez ĂȘtre impitoyable, parce que ces gens sont des salauds - https://looka.com/s/78722877
TaplowGreen
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 8619



View Profile
« Reply #3 on: July 19, 2020, 09:35:15 »

Is now a good time to be planning a catering operation at a station?

No.

Don't sit on the fence Lee!  Cheesy
Logged
Lee
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 7519


GBR - The Emperor's New Rail Network


View Profile WWW
« Reply #4 on: July 19, 2020, 09:40:46 »

Is now a good time to be planning a catering operation at a station?

No.

Don't sit on the fence Lee!  Cheesy

Yes.
Logged

Vous devez ĂȘtre impitoyable, parce que ces gens sont des salauds - https://looka.com/s/78722877
Do you have something you would like to add to this thread, or would you like to raise a new question at the Coffee Shop? Please [register] (it is free) if you have not done so before, or login (at the top of this page) if you already have an account - we would love to read what you have to say!

You can find out more about how this forum works [here] - that will link you to a copy of the forum agreement that you can read before you join, and tell you very much more about how we operate. We are an independent forum, provided and run by customers of Great Western Railway, for customers of Great Western Railway and we welcome railway professionals as members too, in either a personal or official capacity. Views expressed in posts are not necessarily the views of the operators of the forum.

As well as posting messages onto existing threads, and starting new subjects, members can communicate with each other through personal messages if they wish. And once members have made a certain number of posts, they will automatically be admitted to the "frequent posters club", where subjects not-for-public-domain are discussed; anything from the occasional rant to meetups we may be having ...

 
Pages: [1]
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.2 | SMF © 2006-2007, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
This forum is provided by customers of Great Western Railway (formerly First Great Western), and the views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that the content provided by one of our posters contravenes our posting rules via admin@railcustomer.info. Full legal statement (here).

Jump to top of pageJump to Forum Home Page