Brits spend an average of £7 on food, coffees and shopping at railway stations before they set off on every single journey they take, according to a new study.The research, conducted on behalf of the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) – representing Britain’s train operators and Network Rail – suggests passengers largely fritter their money on coffees before they go but also on gifts and even haircuts.On average, the cost is barely enough to cover a ‘meal deal’ of a sandwich, snack and drink at a typical station shop.But depending on where they are in the country, people are spending anywhere from under £5 to more than £11 on the concourse before they leave – not including money spent in shops close to the stations.The study comes after Britain’s railway regulator found travellers are paying a typical premium of around 10 per cent on food at railway stations compared to the cost of buying it at a high street store.Do you buy food at the train station? Email: jon.brady@mailonline.co.uk
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A study by Britain’s railway regulator last year found travellers were paying a typical 10 per cent premium on food at railway stations (prices from December 2023) Railway passengers are spending an average of £7 inside the station before they even board the train, a study has found (stock image of a train) Passengers travelling from Newcastle (pictured) would spend as much as £11 on food and drink from within and around the station before setting off  Birmingham New Street travellers were found to spend more on food – an average of £19 – before departing At Glasgow Queen Street (pictured), railway passengers would spend an average of £13 on food and drink before each journey  Bristolians leaving from Temple Meads (pictured) would spend a similar amount on keeping themselves fed and watered before even boarding a trainThe RDG paper looked at the ‘micro economies’ around 40 railway stations across Britain – from larger towns such as Blackpool, Huddersfield and Luton to cities including Glasgow, Cardiff, Manchester, Birmingham and Nottingham.It did not look at London’s terminals – understood to be because of their dual role as huge Underground and National Rail stations, which could skew the data on passenger spending.The 32-page report found passengers will typically spend half of the cash they part with in stations on food and drink, and about 40 per cent on other shopping such as gifts and 10 per cent on ‘entertainment’. How much do you spend on food before you go?  Average spending on food and drink in and around railway stations:Glasgow Queen Street: £13Leeds/Bradford: £12 Manchester Victoria: £9Liverpool Central: £15Stoke-on-Trent: £13Birmingham New Street: £19Coventry: £13Cardiff Central: £16Bristol Temple Meads: £13Southampton Central: £15Brighton: £13Norwich: £14Nottingham: £13Sheffield: £14Hull: £19York: £14Newcastle-upon-Tyne: £11 The amount they spend is even greater when shops within a stone’s throw of a station, and the local high street, are taken into consideration.With those included, travellers spend an average of £32 before they set off on a rail journey – between buying coffees in the station, grabbing lunch at a cafe outside or getting a haircut on the high street before they leave.The amounts vary wildly. Looking at food and drink, passengers departing from Glasgow Queen Street spend £13 on food in and around the station, as little as £9 at Manchester Victoria and £19 at Hull and Birmingham New Street.Overall, the spending power of Brits on the rails contributes £23 billion to high street businesses and £9billion to independent businesses.Jacqueline Starr, chief executive of the RDG, said train stations were helping small and independent businesses to ‘thrive’.She added: ‘For our customers, travelling by train is more than getting from A to B. It is a ticket to explore our towns and cities and support the businesses on their local high streets.’However, rail passengers are still paying through the nose for their food and gifts at stations compared to on the high street.Last year, watchdog the Office of Rail and Road began an investigation into ‘premium’ pricing of goods sold at railway stations and found rail passengers paid a 10 per cent premium purely for the convenience of buying before they board.However, the study – which was stopped short of a full referral to the Competition and Markets Authority – found the premium could be as much as 34 per cent on station concourses.The ORR made the decision not to push for an anti-competitive investigation despite finding a ‘lack of effective competition’ among train station eateries – suggesting they are operating with impunity.It found that just five per cent of station units were offered out to potential new tenants when contracts expired – instead simply being offered to the existing occupiers to carry on without fear of being priced out.One company, Select Service Partners, which runs Upper Crust and operates franchises of big brands such as Starbucks and Burger King controls up to 30 per cent of catering outlets in Britain’s railway stations.However, it collects up to 50 per cent of passenger spending at British train stations.