Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on provision of on-board refreshments on rail services.

The Government believes that the provision (or not) of such services is generally best decided by the operator, rather than dictated by central Government, as we believe that the operators are far better placed than we are to understand and react to the demands of their customers.

For example the new Intercity Express trains have been designed to provide the flexibility for the operator to choose the most appropriate catering services - Inter City Railways included plans for introducing standard class buffet facilities on the new trains as part of their bid, and they are discussing this further with the rolling stock provider.