Cork-Dublin rail passengers to get access to onboard vending machines

A 'suitable location' for the vending machines has been identified in the galley car on each train. Picture: Larry Cummins

Fresh from the welcome return of the trolley service on the Cork-Dublin route, Irish Rail is pressing ahead with plans to provide further sources of refreshment in the form of vending machines onboard.

It will initially purchase nine vending machines as a trial and place them onboard the eight MKIV trains that operate the Cork-Dublin service, with one spare retained.

Planning to go out to tender in July, Irish Rail said it wants the vending machines to stock cold drinks, soft drinks, light snacks, and confectionery.

They will also be card-only, with no cash accepted.

The company said: “There had been no on-board catering offering to passengers since 2020. Vending machines are seen as a part solution to on-board catering to passengers.

“If the trial is deemed successful, it is envisaged that further deployment of up to 65 additional machines could be sought.” 

It will be up to the new catering provider that is now offering the trolley service on Cork-Dublin trains to stock and refill the machine.

The machines will also have to meet recognised standards for electrical and electronic systems, shock and vibration, and can tolerate frequent loss or switching off the electrical power supply.

A “suitable location” has been identified in the galley car on each train with these located opposite the galley counter.

Irish Rail had come under sustained criticism for the lack of food and drink services on board trains stemming back to the beginning of the pandemic. It was only last month that on-board catering resumed on an initially limited basis on the Cork to Dublin route.

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The company struggled to find a replacement after RailGourmet, the company that had previously supplied the catering service, withdrew due to cost and staffing issues.

In lieu of a trolley service, the idea of vending machines being used onboard had been mooted as the company struggled through a procurement process.

Documents released via Freedom of Information show that Irish Rail informed the National Transport Authority last year that it had gone to the market to find a replacement provider of catering services.

However, Irish Rail management subsequently told the National Transport Authority last November that there had been “multiple attempts” to seek an alternative provider of bar and trolley services but it had received “over-budget responses from the market”.

The company blamed the significant increase in bids submitted as part of a tender process on “labour costs, supply costs, and risk appetite”. As a result, Irish Rail said it was looking at other options, including the use of on-board vending machines.

A spokesperson said in February, however, that it’s “not as simple as putting a vending machine in a station” and that “there would have to be mechanical changes to the train”.