Sometimes it’s hard getting a seat on a train in 2017, so imagine the sheer delight of railway commuters when they were given their own Silver Service pizzeria experience on the busy commuter service towards Cheltenham Spa from London Paddington.
Commuters travelling through Didcot Parkway on Wednesday couldn’t quite believe their luck when they got an unexpected midweek treat on their commute home.
Thirty-two lucky commuters were given ‘golden tickets’ to upgrade their standard train tickets as they boarded the train at London Paddington. Impeccably dressed servers greeted the passengers as they transformed an entire First Great Western carriage with white linen tablecloths set with real crockery and glassware, serving a selection of fine wines – no trolley service with crisps for these lucky few.
And the surprises didn’t stop there. As the train pulled into Didcot Parkway station at 16:16, sixteen more waiters boarded the train – each holding two individual pizzas under silver cloches – with just 60 seconds to board the train, serve the 32 passengers simultaneously – and then exit the train before the doors closed for the train to continue on its journey.
Pizza brand, Dr. Oetker Ristorante, booked out the first class carriage on First Great Western’s train, travelling from London Paddington to Cheltenham Spa – to offer commuters the chance to make their everyday commute a little more special.
Claire Griffin from Cheltenham, who took part in the upgrade at Paddington said ‘I never expected this to happen, it was an amazing surprise!’
Rupert Granville from Stroud said `We were expecting to sit down in standard seats... We were given these golden tickets and presented with a glass of wine – and a pizza! What a lovely, lovely suprise!”
Lucy Hurrell-Morgan, from Dr. Oetker Ristorante, said: “Commuting to and from work is something that for most simply needs to be endured rather than enjoyed. It’s understandable that by the time you make it home – you won’t feel like making an evening feel special or exciting.
“We wanted to surprise commuters and give people some inspiration to make their midweek evenings a little more special with a simple change – by serving our signature thin and crispy pizzas with extra-special pizzeria-style service – in a place and a time you’d never expect. If your commute can be this exciting – there is no end to the possibilities.”
Throughout May, Dr. Oetker Ristorante are giving people the chance to win up to £10 off their next shop when you buy a special Ristorante pack.
