On 18/10/2007, Steve Heaven <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Thu, 2007-10-18 at 09:33 +0100, Dorothy Robbie wrote: > > > Steve Heaven wrote: > > > Heard on BBC radio news this morning: > > > > > > Tesco are to start using the MSC to move wine between Liverpool & > > > Manchester.
and here;'s the full story: TESCO STARTS CANAL TRANSPORT SCHEME INDUSTRY Tesco 18 Oct 2007 - 09:19 By John Fahey, PA Page 1 Tesco will today become the first major retailer to start transporting freight by canal. The pioneering move will cut carbon emissions by 80%, according to the supermarket giant. Store bosses believe their use of the waterways could trigger much more traffic on the canals as distribution companies search for viable alternatives to the country's congested roads. The new transport scheme will run along the Manchester Ship Canal - from Liverpool to Manchester. mfl Page 2 Tesco said the barge use - which begins today and will transport wine - will mean thousands of lorries are taken off the roads. A company statement said 50 lorries will be off the road each week, resulting in a saving of 1.1 million kilometres (683,000 miles) of heavy lorry journeys on British roads. Plans are already under way by Tesco to use similar waterborne freight routes across Britain. Tesco distribution director Laurie McIlwee said: "Other businesses have merely discussed switching over to transporting their cargo by waterway one day but we're actually doing it. "This move will be like taking a step back to the pre-car days of the late Victorian era - when a lot of cargo was still transported by canal - but is a step forward in helping to address today's important environmental issues. "We are continually reviewing alternative green methods of transporting cargo and this is our first waterborne project within the UK. We are already looking at other areas where we can move freight on waterways. "Reducing carbon emissions and looking at how we can make the business more environmentally-friendly is a priority and by 2012 we aim to halve the amount of carbon emitted per case of goods delivered." The new cargo service involves three journeys a week, delivering an estimated 600,000 litres of wine on each journey along the 40-mile stretch of the canal. The containers of wine from Australia, California, Chile and Argentina are then transported to a bottling site less than half a mile away where they are packed for Tesco supermarkets across the country. Until now Tesco's New World wine shipments have arrived in the UK at various southern ports by ship before being driven to the Manchester bottling depot. The scheme has won the support of Sea and Water, the independent pressure group lobbying for maximising the use of Britain's waterways for freight transport. It says that Tesco has taken an important step towards making water an increasingly mainstream local transport option. Sea and Water director Francis Power said: "Tesco are to be commended for their vision, leadership, and commitment to reducing the environmental impact of modern consumer expectations." The transport innovation has come together thanks to a partnership between Tesco, Salford-based importers and bottlers Kingsland Wines and Spirits and the co-operation of the Peel Ports union between Manchester Ship Canal and the Port of Liverpool. Kingsland supply chain director Michael Forde said: "One corner of our production site is only 50 yards from the Manchester Ship Canal and having grasped the advantages of shipping directly into Liverpool, we wanted to explore the idea of using this great historic waterway. "By trans-shipping from the Liverpool terminal to the container terminal in Manchester, we are ensuring that the traffic stays on the water rather than roads for as long as possible." end
