FRANCE. French onboard caterer Newrest Wagons-Lits and contract catering company Groupe Elior have joined forces to bid for the restaurant services contract(s) on SNCF high-speed trains (TGV and IDTGV) when it goes to tender at the end of the year.
Elior will offer a branded F&B service (Paul or Exki) and Newrest, which owns 65% of the joint venture, will bring its knowledge of inflight and onboard rail catering services.
The winning bidder(s) will be announced in June 2013, but SNCF has yet to reveal whether the tender will involve one large contract or a series of smaller contracts.
In 2008, Wagons-Lits (then owned wholly by Accor) lost the bid to Italian rival Gruppo Cremonini (GC). Through its local subsidiary Cremonini Restauration, GC won everything except the service on the TGV Est and Lyria trains. The win included a 40-month contract valued at €280 million, providing catering services to over 500 trains per day – 80% of the high-speed network.
In 2011 Toulouse-based Newrest Wagons-Lits reported a consolidated turnover of €594 million: 55% of the activities are related to the inflight business, 15% on trains and 30% providing global services to remote sites. The company’s Italian rail catering service will cease later this year.
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Teaming up: Groupe Elior and Newrest Wagons-Lits join hands to bid for the catering contract on SNCF high-speed trains |
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