Train staff ‘refuse to pour tea into mugs for first class passengers because they claim to be insured only for disposable cups’
- London North Eastern Railway (LNER) have taken over services on the East Coast Main Line
- Some staff not yet trained to use the ovens, so they can only offer a cold buffet
- One first class passenger said staff required insurance to pour tea in a mug
- Spokesman for LNER said staff did not need insurance to pour hot drinks
First class passengers thought staff on the newly nationalised London North Eastern Railway were taking the biscuit- after claiming they couldn’t pour tea into mugs.
The unusual reason given by staff was that they were not insured to pour the popular hot beverage into the mugs provided, so had to pour it into disposable cups.
Not only that, but LNER also revealed some staff are not yet trained to use the ovens on some trains, so they can only offer a cold buffet, according to The Sunday Times.
Safe to say the combination of the cold buffet and tea in disposable cups did not go down well with some customers, who will have forked out a considerable sum for their ticket.
On Friday Adrian Quine, a rail consultant who was travelling first class between Leeds and Peterborough, tweeted that LNER staff ‘claim they’re not insured to pour tea into china mug provided on the table as these belong to former owner’.
He posted a picture of an empty mug next to a disposable cup that had been filled with tea.
In a later tweet Mr Quine said the service he was taking was ‘late’ and there was no hot food available.
He then says ‘welcome to the nationalised railway’, a barb taking aim at the lacklustre food and drink options available under British Rail.
A spokesman for LNER said its staff were insured to pour hot drinks and said the insurance comment from staff was likely ‘sarcastic’.
They added: ‘The crew are just probably not familiar with that train and so decided to use the disposable cups.’
They also said staff were not yet trained to use ovens on the rolling stock from East Midlands Trains, so a cold buffet was being served.
Services on the East Coast Main Line were brought back under public control in June this year, following the failure of the Virgin Trains East Coast.
Trains on the key route between London and Scotland are being run by the Department for Transport’s (Dft) Operator of Last Resort, who are London North East Railway.
LNER will operate until a public-private partnership takes responsibility for both trains and track operations in 2020.
All VTEC staff have been transferred to LNER as part of the transition.
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