THE traditional restaurant car service is to be scrapped on East Coast trains from York to London and Edinburgh.

The York-based rail operator, whose restaurant car service is the oldest in the UK, is making the change as part of an overhaul of onboard facilities costing almost £10 million.

The company says it wants to avoid a repeat of the multi-million-pound catering losses the route’s previous operators, National Express East Coast, suffered before walking away from its franchise.

The cost of the changes will come from modifying catering cars and retraining staff, with their arrival coinciding with the biggest alterations to timetables on the East Coast route in more than 20 years.

The operator has said the price of first-class tickets will not directly rise as a result of the changes. A passenger watchdog said today some customers would be sorry to see the restaurants go, but research had shown that many preferred to eat at their own seat.

Under the changes, first-class passengers on East Coast trains will be served hot breakfasts in their seats before 10am, dinner between 4pm and 7pm, and sandwiches and salads at other times.

East Coast said the move was part of an initiative aimed at encouraging people to travel by rail instead of air and also encourage more passengers to make their journeys in first-class rather than standard-class.

New menus would be revealed early next year, with those travelling first-class also receiving complimentary alcohol and soft drinks on weekdays and an all-day light menu at weekends.

The changes will not affect the service passengers travelling in standard-class currently receive from East Coast, as the existing buffet cars and trolley service will be retained.

“The catering service on East Coast has been a subject of debate and everybody has got an opinion on what we should do,” said the company’s chief executive officer Elaine Holt.

“We decided to do some research on what customers wanted and our first-class customers said they wanted to see a more extensive product. This will deliver substantial long-term benefits to the business.”

Guy Dangerfield, manager of the watchdog body Passenger Focus, said it would monitor passenger reaction to the changes. “Some passengers will be sorry to see the remaining traditional restaurants go, but our research shows that many passengers prefer to eat at their own seat,” he said.