A UK logistics operator has brokered a major deal to reduce the amount of lorries on UK roads and create a direct rail link from Spain.

Stobart will be operating a dedicated reefer service from Murcia and Valencia in Spain to Dagenham, following a deal between Stobart Rail and rail operator DB Schenker.

The partnership will see 30 vehicles removed from UK roads per train, reducing the journey’s carbon footprint significantly.

Stobart, which already operates a rail service to Livingstone and Inverness, will begin the operation with three trains, increasing to six by Christmas. It then hopes to increase the speed of the journey through a link up with High Speed 1, also known as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.

Each train will consist of 30 reefer boxes and Stobart will collect the produce from the packhouse, deliver it to the rail terminal in either Valencia or Murcia and, upon its arrival at Dagenham, the rail box will be transferred onto a Stobart vehicle, which will complete the journey.

The reefer boxes, complete with satellite tracking, carry 25.5 tonnes on the Spanish roads, travelling from the packhouse to the rail station.

Trevor Howarth, legal director at Stobart and leader of its rail project, told freshinfo: “We have talked a lot about this link-up in the last 10 years and we knew it was time to commit to seeing the entire process through and, having dealt with DB Schenker at length, we have been able to develop it.

“Everyone is aware, right through the supply chain from grower to the consumer, that we need to be more conscious of the environment, and that is paramount.

“As it goes straight from Spain to our depot in Dagenham and then, if it’s going straight up to Scotland, it never even touches the road - that’s a great step forward.

“Also, because we have a number of customers, it means we can consolidate our loads rather than having lorries from specific retailers or packhouses on the roads. DB has an enormous rail capacity, as do we in the UK, so together this will work smoothly and efficiently.”

Stobart is also likely to backload the boxes with general cargo and pallets to further reduce the connection’s carbon footprint.