UK: The Office of Rail & Road has launched a study of the market for the sale of ready to consume food and drink at railway stations in Great Britain, looking at the effectiveness of competition, outcomes for consumers and barriers for new entrants.
Factors to be considered by the market study will include value for money, competition between retailers, convenience, choice, quality of products, price competition and customer service.
ORR said stations are commercially attractive locations for retailers, with passengers spending more than £1bn/year at just Network Rail managed stations, and footfall is expected to grow.
‘We want to ensure that passengers are getting affordable food and beverages when using station facilities’, said ORR’s Head of Competition Grahame Horgan on June 16. ‘It is important that the railway industry gives consumers good value for money and improves their journey experience.’
Written submissions on to the market study should be e-mailed to ORR by July 7. ORR aims to publish its market study report no later than June 15 next year.
Previous market studies undertaken by ORR have looked at the markets for the supply of signalling systems, automatic ticket gates and ticket vending machines.
