THE provision of food services on UK trains was set for investigation today amid fears that passenger choice could soon be restricted.

Regulators will look at the proposed takeover by catering company Compass of rival Rail Gourmet, operator of services for Virgin and GNER.

Compass is already involved in the provision of food on Eurostar and Scotrail, and could hold a market share of 90 per cent following the deal, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

Competition Minister Melanie Johnson has referred the matter to the Competition Commission for further investigation, after receiving advice from the Director General of Fair Trading (DGFT).

The commission has until June 17 to rule whether the deal, announced on Christmas Eve, would be against public interest.

Miss Johnson said: "The acquisition appears to eliminate a main competitor of Compass, leading to an extremely high market share in the on-train food market."

Compass also has significant interests at rail stations, with its Select Service Partners division responsible for 364 units, including Cafe Ritazza and Upper Crust, at 168 UK stations.

The DTI said the DGFT had advised the acquisition would give the merged parties the majority of food at stations and on trains, "which could restrict passenger choice."