Carlisle-headquartered rail firm DRS is helping Tesco take thousands of lorries off the road thanks to a new service.
The companies have launched a refrigerated rail freight service, replacing 7.3 million road miles this Christmas and saving 9,000 tonnes of C02 a year.
The new service will be the first time Tesco has used refrigerated rail freight in the UK, distributing chilled goods from Tilbury to Coatbridge by low CO2 rail twice a day, seven days a week, it said.
The 415-mile route will use DRS’s Class 88 bi-mode electric locomotives which can run on electricity and produce zero exhaust and greenhouse gas emissions.
Chris Connelly, NTS deputy CEO and rail director, said: “This is fantastic news, not only for DRS and Tesco but also for the environment. This is an example of how rail can play an integral part in the race to net zero.
“Each train will remove around 40 lorries from Britain’s roads and we’re running two trains a day, seven days a week. We’re thrilled to be working with Tesco on this new service, helping them drive down their carbon footprint as they deliver for their customers throughout the UK.”
Tesco is increasing its use of rail freight as part of its efforts to meet its commitment to net zero emissions in its own operations by 2035. Over the past year alone the supermarket has increased the number of containers with produce destined for stores transported by rail by nearly 50 per cent.
