buffet car

{{Short description|Train car where food and beverages are offered and consumed}}

Image:British Rail Mark 1 RBR M1848.jpg RMB M1848 on the East Lancashire Railway]]

File:Dining car on Swedish X2000 train.jpg train buffet cars are mostly self-service. Customers pick their food from a shelf, pay for it, and heat it themselves in a microwave oven]]

File:India - Indian Railways Kitchen coach - 0989.jpg

A buffet car (British English) or café car (American English) is a passenger railroad car, where food and beverages can be bought at a counter.[https://books.google.com/books?id=VmZmOS5rm5MC&pg=PA333 The American Railroad Passenger Car - John H. White, Jr.]. p. 333. They provide a lower level of service than a dining car (also known as a restaurant car in some regions) where passengers are served at tables, however, they require fewer employees to staff, reducing operating costs.

Sometimes a seating area is provided in the car where passengers may sit while consuming their purchase. Typically, passengers are not allowed to consume food and drinks not purchased onboard the train in these areas. Other trains lack this area and passengers are expected to return to their seats to consume the products they purchase.