The catering trolley on the Galway to Dublin trains will not return until 2024 at the earliest.

Iarnród Éireann suspended on-board catering services on all trains for two years up to February 2022 due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Then last May, the supplier RailGourmet who provided the trolley service on all routes, withdrew from the contract due to “costs and staffing issues”.

Last week, Iarnród Éireann confirmed it will resume on-board catering services from early April, on the Cork to Dublin route.

But it confirmed train passengers on the Galway to Dublin services will not be able to purchase food and beverages onboard for at least another 22 months.

Asked about the Galway train trolley, a spokesperson for Irish Rail said: “While a partial service across all routes was considered and would have been preferred, the requirement for multiple catering base facilities and a more dispersed workforce across all routes saw this exceed available funding.”

The spokesperson said it would be part of a new tender process, which will not be in place until 2024.

“The tender process for the full national network will encompass Galway services – given the challenges experienced to date, it is expected that it will be 2024 before a contract for the full network is in place,” the spokesperson added.

The company said it was “delighted” to be able to offer on-board catering on the Cork-Dublin route on an interim basis until the full contract is entered into.

“We also believe that the success of the interim service will ensure that some of the inflated costs being quoted for full catering provision across our Intercity network will be reduced through the full procurement process,” the spokesperson said.