to be staggered by how appalling this is?

[sadpapercourtesan]

My 17yo son was on a Cross Country train yesterday. The buffet car was open and several passengers were removing their masks to eat, so DS1 lowered his to eat a packet of crisps he had with him (it was a long journey and he did need to eat)

Train conductor came through and told him to put it back on, because passengers may only remove their masks to eat food purchased in the buffet car!

WTAF?!

Flatpackback you have always been able to eat your own food on a train and you still can. I spent 4 days last week up and down the country and everyone was discreetly lowering their masks to eat or drink, especially on the longer journeys. There are no buffet trolleys atm and frequently not even a buffet counter.

Which is why I think this thread is a bit of a wind up about masks. Sigh.

It's really not a wind-up.

Just to clarify - he wasn't being asked to eat IN the buffet car. The buffet car was the usual serving hatch with no seating. The issue was that he wanted to eat something not purchased in the buffet car, and the conductor told him that only customers who had purchased their food on the train were allowed to remove masks to eat it.

I've acknowledged the hyperbole of the thread title. I still think this was crap, though.

But how would the conductor know that the crisps were not purchased at the buffet bar?!

But how would the conductor know that the crisps were not purchased at the buffet bar

Maybe the train buffet doesn't stock Tesco Prawn Cocktail crisps.

And you think that the conductor would be bothered to assess the crisp flavour and say that the teenager couldn't eat them?!

There are no buffet trolleys atm and frequently not even a buffet counter.

There are trolleys on some trains (on Cross Country) but they are static in a "vestibule" .

I wonder if something was lost in translation between OP and son. I just cannot imagine the conductor checking every passengers food packaging to check it was bought on the train, especially as Cross Country state on their website "Customers are welcome to bring their own food". Maybe the son had his mask off with a packet of crisps sitting in front of him, so he technically "eating", just very very slowly, and the conductor saw through this and pulled him up on it? Then he has given Mum his version with a glaring omission?

I might be way off track (ha ha), but that makes more sense (to me) than OP's post

"Yanbu OP. Either it's safe to take mask off to eat or it's not."
^ this

Maybe a bored 17yo made up a story...

Maybe the DS didn’t like the crisp flavour so made the whole thing up to get a new pack from the static buffet trolley? 😂