Dining car

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A dining car (American English) or a restaurant car (English), also a diner, is a railroad passenger car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant.

These cars provide the highest level of service of any railroad food service car, typically employing multiple servers and kitchen staff members. Consequently, they are the most expensive to operate. It is distinct from other railroad food service cars that do not duplicate the full-service restaurant experience, such as buffet cars, cars in which one purchases food from a walk-up counter to be consumed either within the car or elsewhere in the train. Grill cars, in which customers sit on stools at a counter and purchase and consume food cooked on a grill behind the counter are generally considered to be an "intermediate" type of dining car.