Tesco is stepping up its use of rail freight to transport products around the country with the introduction of a refrigerated service. The move is part of the retailer’s drive to reduce its carbon emissions but will also help ensure that its shelves are stocked for Christmas amid disruption to supply chains caused by the HGV driver shortage.
The new rail service removes road transport from much of the British leg of the journey for fresh produce from mainland Europe. It will transport hundreds of different fruit and vegetable products over the festive period.
In the first domestic refrigerated rail service it has committed to, Tesco said it had partnered with Direct Rail Services (DRS) to distribute chilled goods from the Port of Tilbury, east of London, to Coatbridge in Scotland by rail twice a day, seven days a week.
Tesco stated that the 415-mile rail journey will take at least 17,000 containers off the road each year, saving 7.3 million road miles and nearly 9,000 tonnes of CO2.
From 65,000 containers a year on rail, Tesco has an ambition to increase that to 90,000 containers by the end of the year.
Jason Tarry, Tesco UK and Ireland Chief Executive, commented: “We’ve been using rail to transport our goods since 2008, and this new service reflects our continuing commitment to rail, which has clear advantages for our business, our customers and the planet.”
He added: “Our rail service will be an important part of our efforts to deliver a fantastic Christmas for our customers, but the journey doesn’t stop here as we continue to increase the number of containers we transport by rail as part of our commitment to reach net zero emissions in our operations by 2035.”
