Gate Gourmet, a member of gategroup and the world's largest independent provider of onboard catering and provisioning services, expanded its presence in the rail business due to a new contract in Spain with Cremonini, a leader in European rail catering.

RENFE, the Spanish national railway company, has awarded Cremonini Rail Iberica S.a. a new contract, which broadens Cremonini's catering business to the railroad's entire Spanish network. As a result, the scope of Gate Gourmet's existing business as a provider to Cremonini quadrupled.

"gategroup welcomes the opportunity to grow its business with Cremonini and our position in the rail sector. The expanded business with rail catering and logistics in Spain underscores gategroup's strategy to expand its onboard expertise into markets adjacent to its core business of serving airlines," said gategroup CEO Guy Dubois.

Gate Gourmet has been supplying meals to Cremonini in its Madrid facility for RENFE, and under the new arrangement also is producing food for Cremonini in Barcelona. The railway requires more than 400 menus to cover its various service classes and corridors, including the premium high-speed AVE services. The number of food trays produced per year under the expanded business will total more than 5.5 million.

In addition, Gate Gourmet is managing the provision and delivery of meals to Cremonini in Valencia and Alicante. The company has added approximately 150 positions in Spain to handle the new business.

"The European rail sector is growing steadily and represents a substantial opportunity in which to market our capabilities," Dubois said. "The brands of gategroup bring unparalleled expertise in catering, supply chain and onboard solutions to serve people on the move. What we do so well for airlines quite naturally translates to railways," he said.