Great Western Railway: on-board catering, buffets, Travelling Chef, Pullman - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[broadgage]

I could buy a fillet steak a lot cheaper in the butchers than in the restaurant, but that is because one is paying for the staff and management time and use of the "premises"

[grahame]

... and use of the "premises"

Hmm ... I would argue that "use of premises" is within your ticket price - at least the customer facing end is. Anytime single, Plymouth to Paddington, First Class - ^199.00.

[TaplowGreen]

... and use of the "premises"

Hmm ... I would argue that "use of premises" is within your ticket price - at least the customer facing end is. Anytime single, Plymouth to Paddington, First Class - ^199.00.

.............that's like buying a Big Mac and paying to sit and eat it at Petrus!!!

[IndustryInsider]

I agree with TaplowGreen that the prices are pretty high, and I'd doubt I'd pay that for an steak.  But there is an element of it being a special dining experience and for that you would expect to pay more.  Presumably, if the dining numbers Broadgauge regularly report are as healthy as he says then there are no shortage of people prepared to pay the price.

[broadgage]

I agree with TaplowGreen that the prices are pretty high, and I'd doubt I'd pay that for an steak.  But there is an element of it being a special dining experience and for that you would expect to pay more.  Presumably, if the dining numbers Broadgauge regularly report are as healthy as he says then there are no shortage of people prepared to pay the price.

The evening services from London are generaly well patronised and often full.
The up services into London tend to be less busy but need to run in order to position the crew and supplies for the down services.
If I was in charge, I would keep the basic menu and pricing structure as at present, but consider some form of discount on the up services. "3 courses for the price of 2" or some other suitable offer.
IME^▸ ('in my experience') there is no shortage of people willing to pay the price of an excellent evening meal, but there IS  a shortage of people willing to pay as much at lunchtime.

[bobm]

Taken in isolation the prices may seem high - but consider this.

One of my regular trains is the Monday 12:01 from Plymouth to London Paddington.  This starts back at Penzance at 10:00 and is normally a very busy train at the start of the week.

Taking next Monday as an example there are currently advance fares available at ^53.45 in standard or ^117.95 in first.  The walk up single in standard is actually cheaper at ^52.50 - so using that means I could save over ^65 by buying a standard ticket and sitting in the crush that would allow me.  Or I can sit in the restaurant and use the same ticket while eating a meal using some or all of my savings.  As well as the excellent food and greater comfort it has the added benefit of meaning I am fed and watered when I reach my destination and don't need to spend more time and effort getting a meal later.

Taken in that context the meal is not as expensive as it may seem.

[grahame]

Yes - there are indeed no fewer that 72 single fares listed from Plymouth to London Paddington on brfares, ranging from 15.60 to that 199.00 I quoted.   There's a whole lot more - returns, with travel card, and some business products which I suspect include a meal in the restaurant car.  And of course you can be using ranger or rover tickets or using railcards too - so the amount you pay could be (in effect) yet something else.   Almost too much choice - the only thing missing being the single middle aged person railcard / loyalty card!

Makes "value for money" very hard to evaluate!    ... and I certainly agree with the enjoyable experience / saving of time at journey end mitigators.   Heck - that's often how I justify train / standard class against driving 

[BandHcommuter]

Or I can sit in the restaurant and use the same ticket while eating a meal using some or all of my savings.  As well as the excellent food and greater comfort it has the added benefit of meaning I am fed and watered when I reach my destination and don't need to spend more time and effort getting a meal later.

On that basis, the restaurant car could be seen as a cheap first class upgrade with a free meal thrown in (especially on a long journey)! Do passengers with first class tickets get priority if the restaurant car is busy? And are standard class ticket holders required to return to standard accommodation once they've finished their meals?

[ChrisB]

yes; supposed to....

[bobm]

FGW^▸ (First Great Western) have made a change to four services concerning the provision of Travelling Chefs.

The service has been removed from
09:15 London Paddington to Cardiff Central
11:55 Cardiff Central to London Paddington

The service has been added to
07:45 London Paddington to Swansea
11:28 Swansea to London Paddington

[TaplowGreen]

yes; supposed to....

........at those prices I'd expect to be carried back to my seat in a sedan chair accompanied by a string quartet playing relaxing music, then tucked in with a large glass of Louis XIII & a big fat cigar! 

[broadgage]

Or I can sit in the restaurant and use the same ticket while eating a meal using some or all of my savings.  As well as the excellent food and greater comfort it has the added benefit of meaning I am fed and watered when I reach my destination and don't need to spend more time and effort getting a meal later.

On that basis, the restaurant car could be seen as a cheap first class upgrade with a free meal thrown in (especially on a long journey)! Do passengers with first class tickets get priority if the restaurant car is busy? And are standard class ticket holders required to return to standard accommodation once they've finished their meals?

Yes first class ticket holders are meant to get priority in use of the Pullman, this is enforced on services from London by allowing first class customers to board first, with steerage then admitted if spaces remain.
This works fairly well, but not perfectly.
The usual procedure at Paddington is for those wishing to dine to queue on the platform whilst the crew prepare. Once all is ready, then first class customers are invited to board, followed by steerage if space remains.
This is typicly some minutes before departure and therefore has the drawback that a first class customer arriving at the last minute probably wont get a seat, unless they have booked.
Likewise a first class customer boarding at Reading is unlikely to get a seat in the restaurant without booking, since all seats are usually filled on leaving London.
Holders of first class tickets may book a seat in the Pullman on the 18-03 or 19-03 by telephoning customer services.

On services into London, priority for first class is not so easlily enforced as passengers board at numerous stations.
Suppose that say 6 seats remain in the Pullman at Totness, the crew would naturaly hope to fill these seats by admiting anyone wishing to dine. But if a first class ticket holder then boards at Taunton they are likely to be disapointed. One could hardly eject someone who has started their meal !

Holders of steerage tickets are meant to leave the Pullman on completing their meal, enforcement is patchy and may depend on the size of the gratuity.

From London I invariably buy a first class ticket and book a dining seat.
Into London I purchase only a steerage ticket and usualy get a meal. If the Pullman is full or fails to appear, then I sometimes wait for the next one, rather than pay over ^100 extra to go first class

[JayMac]

The Galloping Gourmets (aka bignosemac and bobm) have been out on the Pullmans this past week since the line through Dawlish reopened. Time to savour the food on the Up lunchtime services now that they are not so rushed, as was the case starting from Exeter. Here are some pictures of new menu items:

These first three are from menu rotation 1:

Wild Mushrooms with white wine on sourdough toast


River Exe Mussels with wine, bay and chilli


Grilled Veal Chop from Brookfield Farm with Devon blue cheese butter


And these three are from rotation 2:

Twice Baked Quicke^s Mature Cheddar Souffl^ with lightly dressed watercress


Roasted Breast of Devon Duck with orange and sage sauce


Devon Blue Cheese and Fig Tart

[Chris from Nailsea]

The Galloping Gourmets (aka bignosemac and bobm) ...

... or, as they are also known, the Trundling Trenchermen. 

[JayMac]

... or, as they are also known, the Trundling Trenchermen. 

Very good. 

Might get a t-shirt with that on! Or maybe 'Bumbling Bon Viveurs'