Court declares Dinner Train bankrupt; Uncertain if tickets will be refunded

Dinner Train was declared bankrupt on Wednesday by the District Court in Zeeland-West-Brabant. In recent weeks, it emerged that serious problems were making operations difficult within the company, which offered a luxury dinner service in a moving train. The court has appointed a trustee, who must determine whether the company can restart operations in some form.

Dinner Train recently cancelled all trips due to technical problems with the carriages that were being used, and a lack of equipment availability. People who had already booked reservations on the train sometimes only learned shortly before departure that their trip had been cancelled. Sometimes, passengers were not informed at all that their train would no longer be running.

Rumors immediately surfaced that there were also financial problems. Many affected passengers complained on social media that they did not immediately receive money back for their reservation.

Dinner Train began informing customers that they would first receive a voucher and that the company wanted to refund everyone in phases at a later date. When people subsequently asked questions about this, the company either did not respond or provided vague answers.

Some people who were hired to work for Dinner Train were said to still be owed thousands of euros by the company. Those working for Dinner Train were mainly freelancers and independent contractors, according to the FNV labor union.

The union had also already been told by the authorities that Dinner Train was no longer paying these workers. This includes students who earned extra money as a side job in the company’s mobile restaurants.

Typically, more clarity emerges through the bankruptcy process about who has priority in receiving money for outstanding debts. Workers are often among those with the highest priority, but affected customers can rank lower on the list.