A taste of Yorkshire: Hull Trains serves up local produce on new menu
READY TO SERVE: Hull Trains staff with some of the food and drink on offer from its new trolley service
By Simon Bristow
Hull Trains has unveiled what it describes as “the next era of rail services” on its Hull to London route with a brand-new food and drink trolley service onboard in standard class, and improvements to its first class offer, including a menu featuring locally sourced products from renowned Yorkshire businesses.
The red carpet was rolled out at Hull’s Paragon Station for a launch event attended by stakeholders and representatives from partnering companies.
The operator revealed an array of refreshments that will “redefine the travel experience” for its customers as part of a new at-seat food and drink refreshment trolley service.
The enhanced standard class service comes alongside some new additions to its first class offer, featuring a curated selection of Yorkshire’s finest products including:
Atom Beers: Crafted in Hull, Atom Beer takes pride of place in the onboard beverage offerings with the signature beer, ‘Locomotion’.
Listers Crisps: Grown, hand-cooked and packed locally in Howden.
River City Coffee: The rich and aromatic River City Coffee from the award-winning Hull-based coffee roasters is the newest addition to the first-class offer.
Henderson’s ‘Hendo’s’ Snacks: Sheffield’s Henderson’s Relish soya and potato spicy snacks add a further savoury touch to the food and drink line-up, recognising the growing number of customers from South Yorkshire who connect with Hull Trains’ services at Doncaster. The snacks are also vegan and gluten-free.
To support the new food and drink refreshment service on its trains, the Hull-based company has hired nine additional on-board hosts and three service centre assistants as part of its in-house operated food and drink to train logistics support operation.
The train operator has experienced a remarkable 31 per cent increase in journeys compared to the same quarter last year, delivering 358,000 journeys in the last quarter alone.
Martijn Gilbert, managing director at Hull Trains: “We’re delighted to bring a food and drink refreshment offer back to our standard class customers with this new at-seat trolley service.
“We’ve worked tirelessly to source a number of great products that truly represent the spirit of Yorkshire to help make the new initiative a success by providing a great experience for our customers.
“We’re also passionate about playing our part in the communities we serve and our work on this has a strong focus on celebrating the region and supporting local independent businesses, taking their products all the way along our route to London.”
Allan Rice, co-founder of Atom Brewery: “We're excited to be part of this initiative by Hull Trains. Bringing Atom Beer onboard gives passengers a taste of the vibrant brewing scene in Hull.”
Kevin Talbot, business development manager at Henderson’s (Sheffield) Ltd, said: “Being part of Hull Trains’ catering line-up allows us to showcase the unique flavours of Sheffield to a broader audience. We’re delighted to contribute to this exciting venture.”
Laura Platt, co-owner of Listers Crisps, said: “Listers Crisps, hand-cooked in Howden, are thrilled to join forces with Hull Trains. We hope our crisps add an extra layer of enjoyment to passengers’ journeys.”
River City Coffee founder Matt Pearson said: “As a Hull-based coffee roaster, we’re proud to be part of Hull Trains’ effort to promote local businesses. We’re confident our coffee will be a delightful addition to the travel experience.”
Hull Trains was recently named ‘best in class’ at an industry awards ceremony, receiving Gold in the 2nd Generation new inter-city train fleet category. This achievement follows a similar recognition in 2022.
The company has also reported the strongest recovery in UK rail journey levels post-pandemic. According to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), journey levels on Hull Trains services are 28 per cent higher compared to the same quarter in 2019.
The new food and drink refreshment offer is now in operation on the Hull to London route, serving Brough, Howden, Selby, Doncaster, Retford and Grantham en-route, with morning and evening services extended to and from Beverley and Cottingham.
Food and non-acholic beverages are provided complimentary in first class (subject to availability). The at-seat standard class trolley service, and the option to purchase alcoholic drinks in first class, are provided with a cashless service.