Prices for food and other items at railway stations are to be formally investigated after evidence travellers are being ripped off.
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said that “preliminary research and investigations” had identified significantly higher prices in stations compared to the high street.
A full investigation is now underway, said the ORR, that will focus on why prices in stations can be 20-30% higher than in outlets on the high street.
Grahame Horgan, ORR’s head of competition, said: We want to ensure that passengers are getting affordable food and beverages when using station facilities.
UK-listed groups WH Smith, SSP, with brands such as Ritazza and Upper Crust, and Greggs all generate significant chunks of their revenues from station outlets, though analysts played down the impact overall on their total sales.
“Investigations like this are not good for sentiment but rail is small in the grand scheme of things. There is also a large amount of competition in the areas in which WH Smith trades. The same can be said of Greggs,” Peel Hunt told the Telegraph.
In a formal statement on its website the ORR said: “Preliminary work which we have carried out suggests that from a passenger perspective: (a) Prices for food and beverages sold at stations are often higher than their high street counterparts. (b) Satisfaction with the station catering offering is low in some instances. (c) There may be issues around underinvestment in catering outlets at stations.”
Interested parties have been given until July 7 to submit responses to a list of questions published by the inquiry.
Shares in WH Smith were unchanged at 1,635p.