Daventry, UK: Tesco is set to move another 31m cases of goods a year – including fresh products – from lorry to rail as it introduces its tenth rail service this week.
The latest ‘Tesco train’ will move 600k cases per week, replacing more than 90 trips per week previously needed to move goods from its main distribution centre in Daventry, on a 260-mile round trip to its regional distribution centre in Widnes.
The new service is expected to cut carbon emissions, saving more than 6,000 tonnes of CO2 annually.
The service brings the total number of cases moved by the Tesco rail network to more than 300m cases per year. The new service, in partnership with DRS and Maritime, will extend the network across the country, moving fresh and dry goods, and will bring the number of Tesco stores receiving deliveries by rail to 198.
The train will be Tesco’s biggest service to date. By delivering by rail to Trafford Park, products are much closer to stores for the final step in the delivery process, with lorries collecting cases of goods off the train and delivering them direct to store.
The new service will run six times a week (Monday to Saturday), and the retailer is working with its suppliers to ensure that the return leg of the service is used.
Suppliers benefitting from the route include AB World Foods, and Heinz –with beauty, grocery and household products being moved on the service.
Ken Murphy, Tesco group chief executive, said: “Tesco’s distribution network is one of the most extensive in the UK and plays an important role in our efforts to become carbon neutral in our own operations by 2035. Switching from road to rail allows us to get products to our stores in a more sustainable way, by removing thousands of lorry journeys each year and reducing our carbon emissions.”
Tesco is also working to optimise its road transport network by increasing efficiencies. For example, the supermarket has introduced double-deck trailers, leading to a 40% reduction of truck journeys. It has also worked with suppliers who ordinarily purchase transport on a one-way basis to help align orders. This has enabled Tesco suppliers to work together to purchase both legs of a journey, with 50% fewer vehicles required for these trips.
