51 Northern stations now have new eco-friendly, cash-free vending machines as the rail operator teams up with Decorum Vending to provide customers access to an array of high-quality brands.
The brand-new machines provide a great selection of products and feature low-sugar and healthy options for customers to enjoy whilst making their journey.
The cash-free nature of the machines will also work as a deterrent to vandalism and allows customers to purchase using a bank card or smartphone.
A partnership between Northern and Decorum was formed due to the retail solutions company's ongoing commitment to sustainability. Decorum's vending machines work with low-energy technology as well as using considered waste disposal and are shortly set to bring online a hybrid fleet of maintenance vehicles.
Customers have been very positive in regard to the new vending machines at Manchester Victoria and Manchester Oxford Road which are some of the highest-grossing Decorum machines on the rail network.
The new vending machines are located at: Alnmouth, Altrincham, Ashton Under Lyne, Barnsley, Beverley, Bingley, Birchwood, Bolton, Blackburn, Blackpool, Bradford Forster Square, Bradford Interchange, Bridlington, Broad Green, Buxton, Cheadle Hulme, Chorley, Earlestown, Garforth, Glossop, Goole, Guiseley, Harrogate, Hartlepool, Hazel Grove, Heald Green, Hebden Bridge, Hexham, Ilkley, Keighley, Kirkham & Wesham, Knutsford, Manchester Oxford Road, Manchester Victoria, Meadowhall, Menston, New Pudsey, Redcar, Rochdale, Rotherham, Salford Crescent, Shipley, Skipton, St Helens Central, Sunderland, Todmordon, Warrington Central, Wigan Wallgate, Wilmslow, Workington and Worksop.
The project will see further machines installed at Harrogate and Manchester Victoria alongside 34 locations during 2023.
Mark Powles, commercial and customer director at Northern, said: “We have worked closely with Decorum to offer our customers the optimum mix of products to suit all tastes.
“These new machines form an important part of our work to improve the customer experience for our passengers.
“The income Northern receives from the sale of products in these machines is reinvested into our ongoing programme of improvement works across trains and stations.”
As the UK's second largest rail operator, Northern runs approximately 2,500 services a day to over 500 stations across the North of England and has shown the rail industry's largest improvement in customer service satisfaction.
We’ve had these cashless machines in the west midlands for years now and Ive lost so much money to them, you get right to the end of the transaction and there is some obscure failure. They take your money and the amount of hassle it takes to raise a case makes you give up trying to recover it. I’ve given up on them.