Q&A: Nicola Shepherd, deputy head of retail at Network Rail Property
Here we chat with Nicola Shepherd, deputy head of retail at Network Rail Property, about her career journey, the evolving retail offer in major train stations, passenger expectations, and the trends and predictions influencing what’s coming next.
Can you tell us a bit about your career journey and your current role at Network Rail?
I’ve been working in retail for over 30 years and am privileged to have worked across multiple businesses – from luxury retailer the Richemont Group, where my travel expertise played a big part, through to the high street. When working on the high street, it was more important to be part of the community, so building relationships with small charities and local groups was a critical part of the business’ success. All my roles have been UK-wide with a travel concept, which has given me a great understanding of regional differences and the importance of this when it comes to the category mix.
I joined Network Rail over 12 years ago, to work with Daniel Charles, our head of retail, and Hamish Kiernan our commercial director. Since then, our team has changed perceptions of what retail in a train station looks like. Our experts have pushed the boundaries across the whole retail mix, positively changing the landscape for our managed stations. This can be seen in the wide variety of shops, bars and restaurants you’ll now find in our stations and through our retail sales, which last year hit £914 million – a record for us.
Subscribe to TRBNetwork Rail’s managed stations have seen a series of retail openings recently. Could you share a few highlights or success stories from the past year?
Our small team of retail experts works hard to deliver station specific strategies that provide both day-to-day convenience and excitement for our customers. A big part of the job is to inject excitement while keeping our staples. This has seen us add new brands and grow existing ones across our portfolio. A great example of this is the introduction of Gail’s at both Liverpool St and London Bridge. Gail’s provides a premium choice and it’s been a big hit with passengers. Also, Oliver Bonas – one of our fashion and gifting staples – continues to expand into larger flagship locations, the newest being the King’s Cross store.
Treating our stations as independent sites – looking at the local area and listening to station users – has led to the continued growth of our bespoke offers, and we’ve recently welcomed Hobbs and Sweaty Betty to our line-up.
Other new brands and businesses to open in our stations and expand our F&B line up are Well and Boot, which launched on Waterloo’s balcony this year, Indi-go, an Indian street food restaurant in Liverpool Street station, and Shake Shack which has just opened at Kings Cross.
We genuinely believe the mix of convenience, newness and inspiration is setting the benchmark in travel retail, transforming our stations into vibrant destinations that offer innovation and outstanding experiences while also giving customers what they expect and need.
What are your predictions for how train station retail will evolve by 2026?
We’re excited to see customers’ reactions to the brands we’ve introduced over the later part of 2025, with Grind, Sweaty Betty and Warrens Bakery all opening in late November and December.
And pop-up retail continues to give us, and our customers, the opportunity to try new ideas in our locations, from gifting to sweet treats. Recent brands to take up our pop-up opportunities include Chinese lifestyle store Miniso, British activewear giant Sweaty Betty, and US skincare legends Malin + Goetz.
I’m sure in 2026, we’ll welcome new concepts and stores but I’m equally confident that some of our recent brands will open in more of our stations as they see their success grow. Popeyes is a great example of this, with their latest unit opening in London Bridge – their third on our portfolio – marking their 100th store in the UK.
With 19 major stations under Network Rail’s management, what are the top demands or expectations you’re hearing from passengers today?
Our customers tell us that they want variety, but not at the expense of everyday convenience and value. This insight gives us a clear understanding of what we need to deliver. In our smaller stations, where we may only have a few units, we know we must focus on that convenience angle. But in our larger ones, it gives us the freedom to offer a wide range of choices and retail types.
Looking at a specific station as an example, at Liverpool Street our insights told us that over 50% of passengers want convenience at speed. 52% of our customers use station supermarkets, 49% use fast food and 43% bakery. So, working with our brands and retail partners, we’ve used this data to refine the offer, increasing the speed of check out and the number of food-to-go options to reduce waiting times and help customers get from till to train in seconds.
As the team continues to push boundaries, this year we’re trialling a Christmas Market at London Bridge station to complement our existing retailers in the station and what’s on offer on the local high street.
What are some of the most valuable lessons you’ve learned about building successful retail environments within transport hubs?
Don’t be afraid to try new ideas. Both Gail’s and Greggs have performed incredibly well in our stations, and they’ve brought our customers something new.
Successful partnerships are essential. We adopt a partnership approach with our retailers. Their success is our success, and vice versa. This means that we have the relationships needed to drive investment from our retail partners. Whether that’s investing in speed of service and digital ordering options or store refurbishments. We all benefit, and that helps push the business forward.
Listening to our customers is absolutely key. Our insights data focuses on understanding the current attitudes and opinions of users across our stations. We are incredibly aware our customers have choice; we don’t have a captive market. So we look at the in-station retail experience, and we take a deep dive into spending habits and shopping motivations. This helps us match the right retailer with the right unit, and it’s a strategy that’s paying off, with sales increasing year on year, and sales growth up 5.8% in 2024/25.
Based on our Passenger Insights 2024:
- Waterloo station stands out with the highest average household income among the major stations covered in Passenger Insights 2024.
- Leisure journeys dominate: Waterloo station continues to attract a diverse and increasingly affluent passenger base, and Leisure travel is the largest segment, accounting for 55% of all journeys. This highlights the station’s appeal as a destination for non-work-related travel.
- Supermarkets remain the most used retail category at Waterloo, followed by fast food and bakery. Over half of passengers use station supermarkets, and nearly half use fast food outlets regularly.
- Satisfaction scores for station retail remain strong, with passengers appreciating the variety and convenience offered.
- There’s a growing demand for quick, easy retail experiences and a willingness to try new retail offerings. Waterloo station currently has the highest average household income among the major stations covered in Passenger Insights 2024.
Are there any upcoming developments, refurbishments, or station enhancements that you’re particularly excited about?
The barrier line improvements at Liverpool Street station have given a chance to enhance what we have to offer and we’ve introduced a larger seated Wasabi, alongside a Warrens Bakery – new to Network Rail. Joining them will be a Pret a Manger, giving customers even more choice and convenience.
Through the redevelopments at London King’s Cross and London Bridge, we’ve delivered best in class destination stations that meet retail demands and give our passengers variety.
The proposed Liverpool Street station redevelopment provides us with a similar opportunity – we increase concourse capacity to allow for future growth, we create a step-free, accessible station and we enhance the passenger experience through a greater variety of retail opportunities.
