On Thursday, 21st July, Rail Minister Wendy Morton MP, and Jackie Doyle-Price MP, Member of Parliament for Thurrock visited Tesco‘s UK-Europe rail hub at the Port of Tilbury in Essex.

The visit was in connection with Tesco’s £5million investment in new rail freight services, following £2.5m of investment in recent years, including the introduction of a new temperature-controlled rail freight service. This will support Tesco in delivering fresh produce from suppliers in Europe through the Port of Tilbury to its distribution centres throughout the UK, such as the one at Thurrock, before onward delivery to stores.

The Minister and the MP were given a tour of the site, saw one of Tesco’s trains being loaded, and heard about Tesco’s commitment to net-zero emissions across its value chain by 2050, including those generated by the products it sells and across its supply chains.

The refrigerated rail service complements Tesco’s recent investments in rail equipment, including 890 new rail boxes and two new stacking machines. These will significantly increase the company’s rail freight across the UK.

Tesco’s new rail service will save about 9,000 tonnes of CO2 each year and remove over 7.5 million truck miles from the road, besides the 20 million miles already removed by existing services. The service will also increase the number of cases delivered each week via rail to over 5.5 million.

Rail Minister, Wendy Morton said: “Rail freight plays a vital role in safeguarding the resilience of our supply chains whilst taking traffic off our roads, offering a cleaner, greener alternative for businesses nationwide. It’s fantastic to see a major company wholeheartedly backing our railways by investing in new equipment.

“This Government has committed to net zero by 2050, and so, I welcome Tesco’s £5million investment as they work towards becoming a zero-carbon business.”

Ms Doyle-Price, MP for Thurrock, said: “Thurrock is the logistics capital of the UK. There is a higher concentration of logistics jobs than in any other area of the UK. We have most to gain from moving freight from road to rail. I am very pleased to see this investment by Tesco.”

Nick Allen, Tesco Distribution Director, said: “We were delighted to welcome the Transport Minister to Tilbury to tell her about the far-reaching plans we have to increase our rail distribution and reduce our carbon emissions significantly.

“Tesco is the biggest retail user of rail in the UK and it’s the most efficient way of moving our goods quickly, so the benefits are practical for our business and for the environment.

“Because of this, we are also planning to increase our efficiency of goods transportation by rail between the North and South of England, eventually replacing the transportation of 40 truckloads by road per day.”

Ross McKissock, Unitised Director at the Port of Tilbury, said: “Forth Ports’ rail freight strategy is focused on streamlining the path of fast-moving goods to the heart of the country’s key markets.

“Tesco’s new refrigerated trains are a perfect fit for the UK’s newest port, Tilbury2, which is a growing hub for European trade and intermodal connections. With daily rail services running to the UK’s largest retailer hubs and capacity to take the longest 775-meter trains on the network, we offer market-leading low carbon distribution solutions, enabling clean, green, and sustainable supply chains.”