CrossCountry's catering offering (2015-2017)

[222007]

I would imagine although im happy to be corrected that any meals ordered would be delivered from stations that have a service center which i think are Edinburgh Newcastle Manchester Birmingham Bristol and Plymouth (i think ive missed some off that list) not that i see this being a huge problem

 

[embers25]

IIRC it was initially trialled on the HST's then launched also on Voyagers, although I stand to be corrected, also I notice it's offered on Man Picc - South Coast services but not on trains to the South West from there, it's also not explicit about if it's just weekdays or Sat & Sunday also?

Given the trains are often so full there's no room to even stand how are they going to get food through. Currently the trolley just gets stopped but if someone has prepaid they'd have to get through. This is not going to work...also if people move seats or are double booked (as happens quite a bit) do other people get their food. Also what if the train is late or canx short at Brum, how does food delivery work then and how do refunds work?

 

[DelW]

Hi,

I wonder if they will allow this facility for people who already have their tickets, i.e. All line railrover, season tickets and even priv tickets ??

Thomas

It doesn't seem to be clear from the website whether you *have* to pre-order, or whether that's just an option for convenience. I would hope that there would be an option to order on the train on the day, of course with pre-orders being given priority, and the risk that your preferred option might have sold out.

Still, it's good to see proper catering making a re-appearance and at competitive prices. I would certainly use the service on a long trip.

As an aside, "aircraft" (microwave?) catering doesn't have to mean soggy food on a plastic tray. Courtesy of a particularly good deal, I once flew BA long-haul in first class, and the food was well up to restaurant standard.

 

[Ash Bridge]

Given the trains are often so full there's no room to even stand how are they going to get food through. Currently the trolley just gets stopped but if someone has prepaid they'd have to get through. This is not going to work...also if people move seats or are double booked (as happens quite a bit) do other people get their food. Also what if the train is late or canx short at Brum, how does food delivery work then and how do refunds work?

Yes, lots of good points there, it will be interesting to see how it works, certainly in standard class, regarding refunds though, I don't think you actually pay until you receive your order.

 

[Greenback]

It's the overcrowded trains that pose the biggest problem, I think. There will also be difficulties in the getting the food out at the right time due to workload, particularly if the catering becomes popular.

 

[infobleep]

I would imagine although im happy to be corrected that any meals ordered would be delivered from stations that have a service center which i think are Edinburgh Newcastle Manchester Birmingham Bristol and Plymouth (i think ive missed some off that list) not that i see this being a huge problem

Except initially it's not going to Edinburgh or Newcastle.

If I travelled from say Guildford to Oxford, which is an hour, I'd hope they could serve breakfast in that time. Once they include that route that is.

 

[swt_passenger]

...also I notice it's offered on Man Picc - South Coast services but not on trains to the South West from there, it's also not explicit about if it's just weekdays or Sat & Sunday also?

Same question re the Newcastle Reading/Southampton then? Odd that they are apparently only doing (starting with?) two of the four main routes.

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Except initially it's not going to Edinburgh or Newcastle.

The "Edinburgh to Plymouth route" was in the original quote.

 

[Bletchleyite]

As an aside, "aircraft" (microwave?) catering doesn't have to mean soggy food on a plastic tray. Courtesy of a particularly good deal, I once flew BA long-haul in first class, and the food was well up to restaurant standard.

The key to me is choosing food that microwaves well, and presenting it well (does anyone know how it is presented?)

There is more than a slight bit of DB influence here I think - it's very much an Anglicised version of the Bistro menu I think, including in price terms.

https://db-bordgastronomie.de/speisekarten/

FWIW aircraft catering isn't microwaved, it's a conventional oven, presumably because of the risk of microwave energy causing issues with aircraft systems.

 

[infobleep]

Same question re the Newcastle Reading/Southampton then? Odd that they are apparently only doing (starting with?) two of the four main routes.

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---



The "Edinburgh to Plymouth route" was in the original quote.

Oops. So it was. I'm confusing it with the Bournemouth Newcastle which isn't. Newcastle is of course on the Edinburgh route.

 

[tsr]

Except initially it's not going to Edinburgh or Newcastle.

If I travelled from say Guildford to Oxford, which is an hour, I'd hope they could serve breakfast in that time. Once they include that route that is.

I very much doubt that XC services between Reading and Guildford will ever be included in the offer. There are very few services to Guildford and I don't think there would be any facilities or significant passenger demand to offer this.

 

[LexyBoy]

I can't see this working at all I'm afraid - mainly for the inconvenience factor. Having to order food online three days in advance, for a specific train at a specific time, just isn't going to appeal to most people. If you could order from that menu onboard, from staff or via the trains WiFi, then I could see it working. Can't they fit a freezer in the galley?

Then there's the questions over what happens if your train is cancelled / delayed / has no catering staff / missed due to connections / wedged.

It's a valiant effort, but I suspect that passengers will want to see it working - ditto for their irritating adverts saying "I hope know there will be food on the train ..." with the disclaimer that it's only available on selected routes and may not be available then anyway.

Here's an idea: since the Voyagers used to have at-seat "radio", I wonder if the disused conduits could be reconfigured to deliver piping hot casserole directly to passengers laps?

 

[infobleep]

I very much doubt that XC services between Reading and Guildford will ever be included in the offer. There are very few services to Guildford and I don't think there would be any facilities or significant passenger demand to offer this.

Reading to Guildford is a short journey but Guildford to Oxford or Oxford to Guildford is longer.

Perhaps XC will stipulate how long a customer has to be on the train in order to make use of the menu. That way they would have time to serve the customer with the customer getting to their destination before they can eat their food.

There is a separate thread on Virgin and how long it takes to cash up and open their shop.

 

[Ash Bridge]

The key to me is choosing food that microwaves well, and presenting it well (does anyone know how it is presented?)

The XC guy that I spoke to explained IIRC that the meal container is placed in the oven and when cooking is complete the container is placed over a plate with the food released by some sort of a tray that slides out from the bottom of the container thus depositing the pre-arranged meal directly on the plate, he said it looked and tasted very close to as if freshly prepared.

 

[tsr]

Reading to Guildford is a short journey but Guildford to Oxford or Oxford to Guildford is longer.

Perhaps XC will stipulate how long a customer has to be on the train in order to make use of the menu. That way they would have time to serve the customer with the customer getting to their destination before they can eat their food.

There is a separate thread on Virgin and how long it takes to cash up and open their shop.

The problem is that Guildford is effectively a small, short stub on the end of the XC [passenger service] network and the train may well be devoid of supplies. I am sure food could be ordered from Reading if it is available on other XC routes from there. But Reading to Oxford is quite short and there would be some tough logistics of delivering a meal exactly on time which could then be eaten without too much of a hurry.

 

[LexyBoy]

There will be no catering staff on board at all, IIRC the Guildford services are all extensions of the Newcastle-Reading (except for engineering diversions).

 

[theblackwatch]

This does sound extremely good value, in fact almost too good to be true - which is why I'm a bit sceptical!

 

[bnm]

Reading to Guildford is a short journey but Guildford to Oxford or Oxford to Guildford is longer.

However, there are no catering staff aboard from Guildford to Reading in the morning. So breakfast wouldn't be an option.

 

[infobleep]

However, there are no catering staff aboard from Guildford to Reading in the morning. So breakfast wouldn't be an option.

I didn't know that.

 

[swt_passenger]

However, there are no catering staff aboard from Guildford to Reading in the morning. So breakfast wouldn't be an option.

Not just Guildford, I expect we've just discovered why the Bournemouth route isn't mentioned, because the catering staff don't join those until Reading either. I would have thought none of the 7 (or is it 8) trains leaving Eastleigh in the morning (to enter service from Bournemouth, Southampton or Winchester) will have catering on board at that stage.

(Unless anyone knows different. I only ever get on northbound trains that have already come down from at least Reading...)

 

[bnm]

Not just Guildford, I expect we've just discovered why the Bournemouth route isn't mentioned, because the catering staff don't join those until Reading either. I would have thought none of the 7 (or is it 8) trains leaving Eastleigh in the morning (to enter service from Bournemouth, Southampton or Winchester) will have catering on board at that stage.

(Unless anyone knows different. I only ever get on northbound trains that have already come down from at least Reading...)

CrossCountry do provide catering between Bournemouth and Reading. If you look at their timetable booklets they use dark shading for those services which have an at-seat service of food and drink.

 

[Tetchytyke]

This does sound extremely good value, in fact almost too good to be true - which is why I'm a bit sceptical!

The overheads are massively reduced with this type of operation, though; the food is essentially made to order, so there's a lot less wastage than a traditional catering outlet. You have to pre-order the meals, like you do on most budget airlines, because if you don't the food won't be on the train.

As far as I can tell the food is ready-meal style, so it'll be microwaved and served in a plastic tray. The options available are all things you'd expect to see in the ready meal aisle at a supermarket. That doesn't make it a bad thing though; some microwave meals can be very tasty.

You also don't pay until the food is delivered, so if the catering goes wrong you're not out of pocket.

 

[swt_passenger]

CrossCountry do provide catering between Bournemouth and Reading. If you look at their timetable booklets they use dark shading for those services which have an at-seat service of food and drink.

For some reason I thought the first few of the day didn't have the full provision. What is clear from the timetable shading though is that those early Manchester trains starting short from Southampton, at 0515 and 0615, and the first Newcastle off Winchester at 0810 don't get it until Reading.

Perhaps I was thinking of an earlier time...

 

[Bletchleyite]

The overheads are massively reduced with this type of operation, though; the food is essentially made to order, so there's a lot less wastage than a traditional catering outlet. You have to pre-order the meals, like you do on most budget airlines, because if you don't the food won't be on the train.

You don't have to pre-order food "on most budget airlines". Most budget airlines do not even offer that service, though some (Jet2?) do. On easyJet and Ryanair you purchase from stock on board.

As far as I can tell the food is ready-meal style, so it'll be microwaved and served in a plastic tray.

Having thought about this, could they perhaps up the feeling of quality by serving it on quality, thicker branded paper plates with wooden disposable cutlery?

The options available are all things you'd expect to see in the ready meal aisle at a supermarket. That doesn't make it a bad thing though; some microwave meals can be very tasty.

Provided you select food that microwaves well (nothing with a crust on it, basically) there is no particular issue with microwaving food. I make my own microwave meals by making large pots of chilli, curry etc - the reheated versions often taste nicer than the original!

You also don't pay until the food is delivered, so if the catering goes wrong you're not out of pocket.

That does help, though it still leaves you meal-less if they do screw up. This creates the trolley paradox - unless you can absolutely 100% rely on it you buy before you board, so it fails.

 

[infobleep]

If you know in advance your travelling on X day to X place this could be good and I think I would use it.

The only personal issue is that I rarely travel on Cross Country because from Guildford at least they are often more expensive than East Coast for places such as York. I don't know if East Coast route is less distance.

I don't know if this has changed since East Coast became VTEC.

 

[Blindtraveler]

Proof of it will be when I and others try it but for now loud cheers and assuming all works its better than VTEC Given that theres been no hot meals in standard since May 2011 on said TOC.

 

[Jonfun]

I would imagine although im happy to be corrected that any meals ordered would be delivered from stations that have a service center which i think are Edinburgh Newcastle Manchester Birmingham Bristol and Plymouth (i think ive missed some off that list) not that i see this being a huge problem

There's no service centre in Manchester, and also, there is a service centre in Reading.


On an aside, the packaging of the meals is, credit where credit's due, a very effective design which enables it to be cooked and plated without adversely affecting the look of the product. Perhaps a bit 'solution in need of a problem' but still good

 

[misterredmist]

That's quite an impressive menu and a good price for a bottle of Pinot too..... may be the downside is you get cold food and warm wine ? I don't use XC as they are not on my
routes , but if I did I'd give it a try -

some good food and drink could distract me from the horrible journeys I normally encounter on those horrible, noisy, rattly , smelly and overcrowded Voyagers

 

[telstarbox]

If you know in advance your travelling on X day to X place this could be good and I think I would use it.

The only personal issue is that I rarely travel on Cross Country because from Guildford at least they are often more expensive than East Coast for places such as York. I don't know if East Coast route is less distance.

I don't know if this has changed since East Coast became VTEC.

It does make a certain amount of sense for Advance passengers doing long journeys. Once you've booked your ticket XC can email you a week before saying "Don't forget to print off your tickets, and by the way do you want to book a nice meal for the journey?"

 

[fairlie]

It's interesting that it stops at 6pm. Thinking of the journeys I've taken where I might have used this, many of them were going places after work - so journeys of say 3 hours starting around 5:30pm/6pm. Maybe it's too operationally tricky at that time or their market research says most people wouldn't want it, but I would have thought availability till 8pm would seem sensible.

 

[misterredmist]

It's interesting that it stops at 6pm. Thinking of the journeys I've taken where I might have used this, many of them were going places after work - so journeys of say 3 hours starting around 5:30pm/6pm. Maybe it's too operationally tricky at that time or their market research says most people wouldn't want it, but I would have thought availability till 8pm would seem sensible.

Good Point