The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) continues its market study into the provision of railway station catering services.
December 2023 update
12 December 2023
Decision to not make a Market Investigation Reference (MIR)
We have decided to not refer the railway station catering market for investigation. We have published the notice of our decision.
Interim report
The interim report contains:
- our emerging findings on the functioning of the railway station catering market
- our reasons for not referring this market to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
- our proposed approach to address the concerns we have identified
We are inviting comments on our main areas of concern and on the proposed actions we have identified so far by 26 January 2024.
Launch of market study
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16 June 2023
We launched a market study into the provision of railway station catering services.
A good railway station catering experience can impact the wider travel experience. Consumers benefit when there is:
- value for money
- competition between retailers
- convenience
- choice
- quality products
- price-competition
- customer service
We invited comments on our proposed approach and areas of focus set out in the statement of scope from interested parties by 7 July 2023.
Timeline
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- 16 June 2023: Launch.
- 7 July 2023: Deadline for responses to the Statement of Scope.
- 15 December 2023: Statutory deadline for publishing notice regarding decision on whether to make a Market Investigation Reference (MIR).
- 26 January 2024: Deadline for comments on the Interim Report.
- 15 June 2024: Statutory deadline for publishing the final report setting out our findings and our reasoning on any action which we propose to take.