A new preparation kitchen and new head chef have enabled Transport for Wales to introduce new menus for its long-distance services.

The new preparation kitchen is at Newport Station and staffed by a team of chefs preparing dishes for passengers on services between Holyhead, Manchester, and Cardiff.

Although much of the food will be prepared in the kitchen at Newport and loaded onto Premier Class in northbound services, kitchens on the trains will allow onboard chefs to complete the final preparation of meals as trains travel at up to 90mph along the Welsh Marches.

The onboard chefs will also prepare food for southbound journeys back to Cardiff, storing it in onboard fridges before it is unloaded at key locations en route ready for the return services and for breakfast the following day.

Catering on Transport for Wales is popular with travellers and has won critical reviews from over the years, including last year’s Eisteddfod choices.

As part of this year’s Railway 200 celebrations, Transport for Wales is in the process of preparing new menu choices.

Transport for Wales offers its premier catering service in its five-car formation trains that include a First Class carriage; customers can also order food from their seats. Catering is available from Monday to Saturday on the following services:

• 05:27 Holyhead to Cardiff Central and 17:14 Cardiff Central to Holyhead
• 04:33 Cardiff Central to Manchester Piccadilly
• 05:43 Swansea to Manchester Piccadilly
• 08:53, 10:53, 12:53, 14:50, 16:53, and 18:53 Cardiff Central to Manchester Piccadilly
• 05:13 Crewe to Cardiff Central
• 06:27, 08:30, 10:30, 12:30, 14:30, 16:30, 18:30, Manchester Piccadilly to Cardiff Central
• 22:32 Manchester Piccadilly to Crewe

The investment will lead to an exciting future for the already successful catering option and increase the range of foods that can be produced in-house.

Head chef Mark Roberts, who joined from Wagamama at the end of 2024, says he is excited to bring a mix of home cooking to customers with a dash of oriental flavour too.

“I love classic home cooking using local produce that can showcase the best we have to offer in Wales,. But we’ll also be offering some Asian inspired dishes like Thai fishcakes, so I’m not totally leaving behind my recent experiences. “We’ve got a fantastic new facility here that will allow us to prepare so much more. I’m planning to work at least two menus ahead and can’t wait to share some of my ideas for the spring, the Eisteddfod and Christmas with our customers.”

Mark Roberts, Transport for Wales Head chef