Strategic Review of Station Retail
Iarnród Éireann is the national railway operator of Ireland, with responsibility for Intercity rail passenger services operated between Dublin and Belfast, Sligo, Ballina, Westport, Galway, Limerick, Ennis, Tralee, Cork, Waterford and Rosslare Europort. Iarnród Éireann also jointly operates the Dublin to Belfast Enterprise service with Northern Ireland Railways.
Key regional services include the new Limerick to Galway line and the Cork commuter network. This includes the newly enhanced Cork-Midleton service, the Limerick Junction to Waterford service and Limerick to Ballybrophy (via Nenagh) services.
Principal services in the Dublin area include DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) services between Greystones and Howth/Malahide, commuter services between Gorey, Drogheda, the M3 Parkway line and Maynooth, as well as services to and from Kildare.
Iarnród Éireann’s group property department is responsible for the property portfolio nationwide, including the letting and sale of property which is not required for operational use.
Strategic Review of Station Retail
The challenge facing Iarnród Éireann is to continuously enhance the customer experience and create a compelling retail offer at their stations.
Iarnród Éireann commissioned Network Rail Consulting to assist in developing their station retail offer. In doing so, Iarnród Éireann gained access to the depth and breadth of Network Rail’s expertise in transforming major stations into leading retail attractions.
Network Rail’s experience in redeveloping major stations such as Kings Cross, St Pancras International, Birmingham New Street, Reading, Blackfriars, London Bridge, Edinburgh Waverley and Liverpool Street was of direct benefit to Iarnród Éireann for this project.
The scope of the project was to undertake an objective third party strategic review of Iarnród Éireann’s station portfolio and facilities, including seven of Iarnród Éireann’s key hub locations in Dublin, Cork and Limerick.
The main objective of the study was to develop recommendations on how best to deliver an enhanced customer journey for existing rail customers and to create attractive retail destinations at railway stations.
Strategic Review of Station Retail
Network Rail Consulting undertook an intensive review of current retail operations involving desktop research, site visits, stakeholder consultation and benchmarking against UK retail operations:
As part of the study, Network Rail Consulting identified:
- opportunities to enhance the customer experience for rail passengers
- opportunities for station retail as a destination point
- potential additional revenues that could be generated
- indicative business cases based on relevant UK experiences
- quick wins for implementation within 12 months.
The study provided Iarnród Éireann with a concise set of recommendations and quick wins to enable them to further develop and enhance their retail. The project was undertaken in a highly collaborative manner with in-depth stakeholder consultation.
Strategic Review of Station Retail
Client: Iarnrod Eireann (Irish Rail)
Location: Ireland
Start date: 2014 (March)
End date: 2014 (May)
Duration: 3 months
Services provided: Station planning