Tesco PLC (LSE:TSCO) said it partnered with Direct Rail Services (DRS) on a new refrigerated rail freight service that will distribute chilled food around the UK for the supermarket giant, helping it deliver produce for Christmas and cut its carbon emissions.
The rail service will run twice a day, seven days a week, taking 40 lorries off the road for every journey it makes, Tesco said.
As Christmas approaches, the rail service will deliver festive favourites such as sprouts, parsnips, carrots, onions, oranges and lemons.
The new service also supports Tesco’s commitment to reach net zero emissions in its operations by 2035. The company said the rail service will take at least 17,000 containers off the road each year, saving Tesco 7.3 million road miles and nearly 9,000 tonnes of CO2e.
Over the past year, Tesco has increased the number of containers with produce destined for stores transported by rail by nearly 50%.
The new rail service should also help mitigate against any delivery problems caused by the current lorry driver shortage.
Jason Tarry, Tesco UK and Republic of Ireland (ROI) CEO, said: “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.”