Fears of burns to staff have prompted the ban.
Irish Rail has said customers will not be allowed to purchase hot beverages using their own reusable cups on their intercity rail services.
A spokesperson for the company confirmed to JOE that customers are not allowed to purchase hot beverages using their own keep cups due to health and safety reasons.
Irish Rail said it cannot facilitate keep cups, which do not fit under the hot water spout on the trolley, while the company also stated it “cannot stand over the safety of the closing mechanism” on individual keep cups.
However, Irish Rail said it is currently trialling a dedicated own-brand keep cup on the Enterprise Dublin-Belfast train.
The rail company plans to introduce it on all intercity routes should the trial prove successful.
Speaking on Today with Sean O’Rourke on RTÉ, Irish Rail spokesperson Jane Creegan said the cup is the same size as Irish Rail’s own disposable cups and fits the spout on their trolleys.
She said concerns that a member of staff may burn their hand filling a traditional keep cup from the spout as the reason they had taken these steps.
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