Tesco keeps shifting to rail

British retail giant Tesco is continuing its modal shift initiative with the introduction of its tenth rail freight service in the United Kingdom. The new route, connecting Daventry, in the heart of England, with Widnes, southwest of Manchester, “will be Tesco’s biggest service to date”, the company highlighted.

For the new rail service, which started last week, Tesco is partnering with Direct Rail Service and Maritime Transport. The latter signed a three-year contract to take over rail operations on behalf of Tesco at the end of 2023.

Moving Tesco goods on the railways will take about 90 weekly trucks off of UK roads. With the new service, which will run six times a week, “the number of Tesco stores receiving deliveries by rail to 198”, the company claimed. Moreover, it will now be possible to use trucks only for first and last-mile deliveries, with freight trains carrying out the longer legs of the journeys.