Interiors of a Cafeteria/Second-class car (TRBru) of a RTG Jet Train of SNCF, seen at Lyon-Perrache, awaiting departure to Bordeaux-St Jean on Train 4580.
This car consist in a Second-class saloon of 40 seats, accounting for half of it.
The other half is fitted with a Cafeteria area, with a dining-room (24 chairs), a self-service counter with a till, and a Galley (further in the background, off-pic).
This area was designed in a very similar way to defunct Grill-Express cars (1970-71), albeit at a smaller scale.
Until the early-90s, RTGs used on Lyon-Bordeaux as well as Lyon-Strasburg and Paris-Boulogne Aeroglisseurs (for Hovercraft services to Dover Western Docks) used to offer a Grill-Bar service, with hot meals. This was then downgraded to a poor trolley service.
Those RTGs running on Paris-Caen-Cherbourg had a different equipment. There was neither dining-room nor self-service counter, and the Second-class saloon was larger (60 seats). The Galley was much larger, and was used for an at-seat catering service.
31st December 2003 P.L.Guillemin (plguillemin@yahoo.fr)