Friday 1 May 2020
Network Rail supports London’s vital supermarket supplies with new freight route from Spain
- Region & Route:
- Southern
Network Rail is working hard to keep supermarkets supplied with food by working with suppliers on two new food routes from Valencia and Murcia into London.
DB Cargo UK and Transfesa Logistics have successfully launched a new express 72-hour rail service to transport essential hygiene, medical and food products from terminals in Valencia and Murcia to London.
This type of traffic is carried in refrigerated containers and expands the activity that Transfesa Logistics had so far operated on a national and international scale. The objective is to develop these railway operations with a daily train to keep supermarkets shelves stocked.
The new services operate into DB Cargo UK’s Barking Intermodal Terminal in London which is strategically connected to the High Speed 1 (HS1) rail link. Rail freight is one of the most sustainable modes of transport, emitting less CO2 with each of these rail services removing 30 HGVs from the road network.
Thousands of tonnes of goods will be transported by freight to support the economy and keep supermarkets stocked up with vital supplies.
John Halsall, managing director for Network Rail Southern region, said: “Rail freight plays a vital role in supporting our economy as we continue to battle coronavirus.
“It is essential we keep freight services running so that goods can be delivered to supermarkets, power stations are fuelled and crucial upgrades on the rail network continue so we can keep people who have to travel, moving.”
Roger Neary, Head of Sales at DB Cargo UK, said: “Despite the ongoing restrictions, we continue to provide our customers with new, reliable and sustainable rail solutions on both a national and international level.
“We are delighted to be working with our DB Cargo group partners at Transfesa Logistics to deliver this essential rail freight service across the continent in these challenging times. Rail freight has a vital role to play in the sustainable transportation of international goods and it’s currently more important than ever that we ensure these supplies reach the UK.”
As the coronavirus pandemic goes on, Network Rail’s priority is to keep vital supply routes, including the lines which service the major ports, open.
Notes to Editors
Safety is our priority so at a local level, we are prioritising inspections and patrols, and the work that comes up as a result of those patrols. Where we have to renew track because it is life-expired (too old to continue), we are doing that too. As kit gets older, it needs more work to keep it going, which will be harder to achieve with COVID-19.
The Government has classed Network Rail as a critical service so our engineers and suppliers will still be working and travelling to work. However, we are looking after our people - we’ve hired extra vans so people can be socially distant, and we’re asking teams on site to keep their distance too. We’re also following rules on social isolation and home working where possible.
There are jobs where it is not possible to keep two metres distance and we are working with our teams to see if we can either stop those jobs, or come up with ways to do those jobs safely (including minimising time and proximity).
The most important thing is that we keep the railway running for critical workers and that when this crisis is over, it’s in good shape to play a massive role in rebuilding our economy.
We encourage everyone to play their part by not travelling unless it’s absolutely necessary and hope to welcome passengers back on our railway in future.
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We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
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