Tesco’s new train route takes more trucks off the road

Tesco have announced a new train route which will replace the need for road transportation on the 260 mile round trip between their main distribution centre in Daventry, Northamptonshire and a regional distribution centre in Trafford Park, Manchester. This is Tesco’s tenth such train route and the biggest one to date. It will bring the number of supermarkets receiving their goods via rail to 198. 

The Daventry – Trafford Park route will transport around 31 million cases of goods each year, taking the total that the chain move by rail annually to more than 300 million cases. 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.’ The new service will result in an annual emission saving of more than 6,000tCO2e from the reduction in road miles.

The train will run six times a week and Tesco are working with its suppliers to make sure that the return leg of the service is also used. The new service, in partnership with DRS and the Maritime Group whose Executive Chairman, John Williams said: ‘We are pleased to welcome this important new service to our terminal in Manchester, and continue supporting Tesco with ‘final-mile’ deliveries to its regional distribution centre and store locations in the northwest.

‘Tesco’s largest service to date underlines the strategic role of our rail facility in Manchester as a hub for British trade, uniquely placed to offer fast, efficient, low carbon logistics for both international and domestic cargo.’

Tesco are working in other areas in an effort to decarbonise their  distribution network.

It has moved to double decker trailers, reducing truck journeys by 40%.