LNER Onboard Staff

[ryan125hst]

How many staff do LNER have onboard these days in the various configurations of trains they operate? Every train will obviously have a driver and train manager. I presume there's at least one member of staff for the Cafe Bar, and perhaps a couple for first class service? I think I'm right in saying only the Dine services have an onboard chef these days?

Do LNER still offer a trolley service like they used to? There's mention of Let's Eat At Your Seat to pre order food on your phone to be delivered, but can food and drinks be purchased directly from the trolley too? Either way, this will require a member of staff.

I presume 5 car Azumas have fewer staff than the 9 car sets? Are the 10 car services still supposed to be staffed equally in both sets or is catering often lacking in one unit on these services?

Are the Intercity 225's staffed the same as a 9 car Azuma or do the numbers differ?

 

[styles]

'chef' lol

 

[ryan125hst]

They do have chefs:

 

[styles]

Yes I guess it depends on your definition.

 

[800001]

How many staff do LNER have onboard these days in the various configurations of trains they operate? Every train will obviously have a driver and train manager. I presume there's at least one member of staff for the Cafe Bar, and perhaps a couple for first class service? I think I'm right in saying only the Dine services have an onboard chef these days?

Do LNER still offer a trolley service like they used to? There's mention of Let's Eat At Your Seat to pre order food on your phone to be delivered, but can food and drinks be purchased directly from the trolley too? Either way, this will require a member of staff.

I presume 5 car Azumas have fewer staff than the 9 car sets? Are the 10 car services still supposed to be staffed equally in both sets or is catering often lacking in one unit on these services?

Are the Intercity 225's staffed the same as a 9 car Azuma or do the numbers differ?

Submit a Freedom
Of information request to LNER and they will give you the information.

 

[styles]

Submit a Freedom
Of information request to LNER and they will give you the information.

Unless they use e.g. the commercial exemption.

 

[800001]

Unless they use e.g. the commercial exemption.

When you read some of the FOI that LNER receive, the above seems basic stuff to be replied to.

 

[YorkRailFan]

Do LNER still offer a trolley service like they used to? There's mention of Let's Eat At Your Seat to pre order food on your phone to be delivered, but can food and drinks be purchased directly from the trolley too? Either way, this will require a member of staff.

No, you can either order through the LNER app and have the food delivered to your seat, or order from the cafe bar in person. There's usually announcements regarding the cafe bar onboard.

 

[yorkie]

How many staff do LNER have onboard these days in the various configurations of trains they operate? Every train will obviously have a driver and train manager. I presume there's at least one member of staff for the Cafe Bar, and perhaps a couple for first class service? I think I'm right in saying only the Dine services have an onboard chef these days?

Do LNER still offer a trolley service like they used to? There's mention of Let's Eat At Your Seat to pre order food on your phone to be delivered, but can food and drinks be purchased directly from the trolley too? Either way, this will require a member of staff.

I presume 5 car Azumas have fewer staff than the 9 car sets? Are the 10 car services still supposed to be staffed equally in both sets or is catering often lacking in one unit on these services?

Are the Intercity 225's staffed the same as a 9 car Azuma or do the numbers differ?

The numbers differ by various factors, such as the loading expected, time of day etc.

Some trains may have more staff than needed to balance out workings in the other direction.

When you read some of the FOI that LNER receive, the above seems basic stuff to be replied to.

Depends what is being asked. Is it a minimum/maximum? That would be simple, but I expect some forum members probably know the answer to that.

A request for exact staffing levels on each train (which would, of course, vary as the train continues it's journey) would be very time consuming indeed. It would also be a bit pointless as it would likely change on a regular basis, to match demand.

 

[ryan125hst]

Submit a Freedom
Of information request to LNER and they will give you the information.

I could do, but there may be people on here who can answer far more quickly than an FOI so I thought I'd try this

Depends what is being asked. Is it a minimum/maximum? That would be simple, but I expect some forum members probably know the answer to that.

Just the usual staffing levels to provide the expected service in first and standard class, so a maximum number excluding extra staff who are on training or who are travelling passenger and decide to help etc. I guess technically the minimum would be zero as sometimes catering may not be available at all.

 

[Scotrail314209]

Normally a Driver, TM and 4 or 5 other hosts.

Depends on time of day and service, such as Dine trains having a chef.

10 car sets get equal staffing, so catering isn’t reduced in any set.

 

[ryan125hst]

No, you can either order through the LNER app and have the food delivered to your seat, or order from the cafe bar in person. There's usually announcements regarding the cafe bar onboard.

I didn't realise they have done away with the trolleys. Come to think of it, when I went to Edinburgh a few years ago, we went to the Cafe Bar to buy cups of tea, and I saw the Lets Eat at Your Seat QR codes (but it wasn't working) but I didn't see a trolley. Cut following Covid I presume?

Normally a Driver, TM and 4 or 5 other hosts.

Depends on time of day and service, such as Dine trains having a chef.

10 car sets get equal staffing, so catering isn’t reduced in any set.

So I'm guessing one host on the Cafe Bar, a second helping them and doing Lets Eat at Your Seat and the other 2 or 3 providing the first class service?

 

[Scotrail314209]

So I'm guessing one host on the Cafe Bar, a second helping them and doing Lets Eat at Your Seat and the other 2 or 3 providing the first class service?

Pretty much, depending on how busy the train is there may be 3 in first or 2, just depends on what’s needed.

 

[Masbroughlad]

GNER were awesome. Customer service excellence lead from the very top and instilled throughout.

Trains had:

Customer Service Manager
Customer Operations Leader
Customer Service Leaders
Chefs
Customer Service Asìstants

Service levels and staffing allocated appropriately to time of day and customer numbers. Busy dining trains had the full lot, quieter trains buffet and a CSL. Customer service was the best in a long time.

Not sure what has happened since. It was good then though!

 

[Wallsendmag]

Plus travelling managers all trained to serve tea and coffee.

 

[ryan125hst]

GNER were awesome. Customer service excellence lead from the very top and instilled throughout.

Trains had:

Customer Service Manager
Customer Operations Leader
Customer Service Leaders
Chefs
Customer Service Asìstants

What was the difference between the manager and the two leader roles?

 

[Masbroughlad]

What was the difference between the manager and the two leader roles?

Customer Service Manager had responsibility for all aspects of service delivery on the train.

Leader roles - one was catering supervisor / restaurant lead, the other (operations) was the role of the guard.

It worked well.

 

[eastcoast77]

As mentioned above there's a Driver and Train Manager on every service, and possibly an additional TM assisting for a short portion of the journey. But for catering it depends on what traction is bing used and how busy (important) the train is.

On nine car trains, it tends to be two hosts in First Class, one in the Cafe Bar and another running delivery orders but this is down to the crew on the day to decide. In 5/10 cars you normally have two hosts in each set and the host in Standard Class just runs the delivery orders when they get the chance.

There may be some cases where it's a little bit different but in my experience it looks like this:

Five Car
- Driver
- Train Manager
- 2 Hosts

Nine Car (High Value)
- Driver
- Train Manager
- Customer Experience Leader
- Chef
- 3 Hosts

Nine Car
- Driver
- Train Manager
- 4 Hosts OR 3 Hosts & 1 Customer Experience Leader

Ten Car
- Driver
- Train Manager
- Customer Experience Leader
- 4 Hosts

Don't forget you might also have revenue staff onboard, catering staff doing positioning moves helping out and staff commuting on their trains in uniform who tend to help out where they can

 

[The Sorcerer]

Customer Service Manager had responsibility for all aspects of service delivery on the train.

Leader roles - one was catering supervisor / restaurant lead, the other (operations) was the role of the guard.

It worked well.

Yep. GNER where head and shoulders above all others.

88 restaurant cars cooked breakfast/lunches/dinners and trollies down the train. A full priced ticket ment passengers who had them could sit in the Standard Plus coach and get at seat service, free tea/coffee, croissants and Buscuits.

All destroyed by National Express run by the headcase at the top David Franks.

 

[route101]

The Trolley was dropped quietly around Covid I think.

Shame never got to try the restaurant car.

 

[Wallsendmag]

The Trolley was dropped quietly around Covid I think.

Shame never got to try the restaurant car.

LEAYS is a much better option though

 

[dk1]

How many staff do LNER have onboard these days in the various configurations of trains they operate? Every train will obviously have a driver and train manager. I presume there's at least one member of staff for the Cafe Bar, and perhaps a couple for first class service? I think I'm right in saying only the Dine services have an onboard chef these days?

Do LNER still offer a trolley service like they used to? There's mention of Let's Eat At Your Seat to pre order food on your phone to be delivered, but can food and drinks be purchased directly from the trolley too? Either way, this will require a member of staff.

I presume 5 car Azumas have fewer staff than the 9 car sets? Are the 10 car services still supposed to be staffed equally in both sets or is catering often lacking in one unit on these services?

Are the Intercity 225's staffed the same as a 9 car Azuma or do the numbers differ?

Trolleys haven’t been used since the pandemic struck but when available, the at-seat service in standard class is excellent. I use it a lot but also take a stroll to the cafe bar.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 Aug 2025 ==

The Trolley was dropped quietly around Covid I think.

It’s been replaced by the superior at seat offering in standard accommodation.

 

[D6700]

GNER were awesome. Customer service excellence

Absolutely fabulous, they were...

One time, I boarded in First Class at Kings Cross and, as I took a seat, was welcomed by a stewardess with "You do realise this is First Class".

"Yes", I replied - and was then told sternly that I need a First Class ticket, to which I replied "yes" again.

She then made sure the guard head-hunted me immediately upon departure. When I produced my valid ticket, the guard thanked me and carried on, much to her visible frustration.

There are certain things that remain in your memory for a long time!

 

[Tester]

Absolutely fabulous, they were...

One time, I boarded in First Class at Kings Cross and, as I took a seat, was welcomed by a stewardess with "You do realise this is First Class".

"Yes", I replied - and was then told sternly that I need a First Class ticket, to which I replied "yes" again.

She then made sure the guard head-hunted me immediately upon departure. When I produced my valid ticket, the guard thanked me and carried on, much to her visible frustration.

There are certain things that remain in your memory for a long time!

I had a fair bit of that in my Eurail pass days.

You get used to it!

 

[Wallsendmag]

Absolutely fabulous, they were...

One time, I boarded in First Class at Kings Cross and, as I took a seat, was welcomed by a stewardess with "You do realise this is First Class".

"Yes", I replied - and was then told sternly that I need a First Class ticket, to which I replied "yes" again.

She then made sure the guard head-hunted me immediately upon departure. When I produced my valid ticket, the guard thanked me and carried on, much to her visible frustration.

There are certain things that remain in your memory for a long time!

I had that last week on a XC service to Birmingham

 

[kkong]

LEAYS is a much better option though

Perhaps in theory, but in my experience, the crew are "unable" to offer the service on around half the journeys on my usual route.

 

[gray1404]

Absolutely fabulous, they were...

One time, I boarded in First Class at Kings Cross and, as I took a seat, was welcomed by a stewardess with "You do realise this is First Class".

"Yes", I replied - and was then told sternly that I need a First Class ticket, to which I replied "yes" again.

She then made sure the guard head-hunted me immediately upon departure. When I produced my valid ticket, the guard thanked me and carried on, much to her visible frustration.

There are certain things that remain in your memory for a long time!

I had that last week on a XC service to Birmingham

Behaviour like this warrants a complaint, especially if you are the only passenger singled out.

 

[Tester]

Behaviour like this warrants a complaint, especially if you are the only passenger singled out.

You are of course correct, but one chooses one's battles.

 

[800001]

LEAYS is a much better option though

In theory yes. And when it works it is good.

However, out of the last say 20 LNER trains I've used, LEAYS has been available on about 5 trains.

And this wasn't not working due to crew change this was for the whole journey and on services where the aisles were not blocked

 

[YorkRailFan]

Perhaps in theory, but in my experience, the crew are "unable" to offer the service on around half the journeys on my usual route.

Trolley services have the same problem though.