Eating on trains?

[listsandbudgets]

I need take a 4 hour train journey with ds (8) on Thursday. I can't do this journey without public transport and I wasn't expecting to need to do it.

What are the rules about eating on trains. Obviously can't be done with a mask in but 4 hours with DS is a long time.

I can't seem to find any clear rules.

Thanks.

I took a commuter train a couple of weeks ago and lots of people were eating with their masks off.

The rules say:

Legitimate reasons not to wear a face covering
You also do not need to wear a face covering if you have a legitimate reason not to. This includes:

if you need to eat, drink, or take medication on public transport

It's fine to eat on trains. Just remember, nothing smelly!

Just completed a long train journey. It's doable, though annoying for snackers like me that used to like to nibble/sip a drink rather than eat in one go.
Take mask off to eat, replace when finished. Also, make sure you have napkins and gel to keep hands and surfaces clean when you eat. Take straws if you think you'll want to drink regularly - you can stick it under the mask!

The gov.uk website says a legitimate reason for not wearing a face covering on public transport is if you need to eat, drink or take medication. Also, children under the age of 11 are not required to wear a face covering on public transport. So you can remove them for eating and drinking and your ds only needs to wear one if you'd prefer him to, not a legal requirement for an 8 yr old.

I was going to echo the pp, your ds is below the age of requirement for mask wearing.

Thank you so much.

I will take some snacks. Obviously we can gon4 hours without food but I'd prefer to have something with us especially if it might be delayed bitter memories of a 1 and a half hour journey that turned into a 7 hour one with 2 children, two packs of crisps and half a pack of fruit pastilles!!

Very sensible - always take food, drink and something to read! I was once on a train that was delayed by nine hours.