Direct Rail Services has run intermodal trains for Tesco every working day since 2006, growing from a single service to as many as ten daily departures linking southern England and the Scottish Highlands.

The Carlisle-based operator, a subsidiary of Nuclear Transport Solutions, marked the twentieth anniversary at Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT) this week with the unveiling of locomotive 88010, newly named "Tesco 20 years of rail freight". NTS co-CEO Ciara Middlehurst and Tesco UK Transport Distribution Director Mathew Rhind conducted the ceremony at the Midlands hub that sits within the UK's so-called Logistics Golden Triangle.

"It is an absolute pleasure to celebrate this significant milestone. Direct Rail Services has been Tesco's trusted rail partner from the very beginning," Middlehurst said. "Together we have built one of the most recognisable and successful rail freight partnerships in the country."

How large has the operation become?

The Tesco workings now rank among the most-photographed freight trains in Britain. Daily intermodal paths run north via the West Coast Main Line and the Highland Main Line between Perth and Inverness, drawing significant enthusiast attention at both ends.

Each loaded intermodal removes around forty heavy goods vehicles from the road network, according to DRS. Over twenty years the partnership has displaced hundreds of thousands of lorry movements, easing congestion and cutting associated carbon output. Inverness, the dominant northern terminus, is colloquially known in freight circles as "Tesco Town".

Where does the cargo actually go?

Although the principal workings terminate at Inverness, much of the load is destined for retailers across remote northwest Scotland. DRS and Tesco describe the flow as a model of trunk-plus-final-mile logistics, with consumer goods originating from the Daventry hub and reaching smaller highland communities by road after the rail leg.

The pair renewed their long-term contract in late 2024, locking in continued intermodal capacity and shielding the supermarket from short-term lorry-driver shortages and diesel-cost volatility. The deal preserves a low-emission trunk haul for fast-moving consumer goods.

What role has traction played?

DRS has continued investing in operating models, wagon design and traction across the partnership. It was the first UK freight operator to introduce a mainline overhead-electric bi-mode locomotive, the Class 88, a step the operator calls particularly significant for grocery traffic given the route's partial electrification.

The type hauls up to 1,500 tonnes with zero exhaust emissions under overhead power, then switches to diesel mode on the non-electrified upper stretches of the Highland Main Line, avoiding a locomotive change. The dual-mode design underpins the consistent transit times required for daily supermarket replenishment.

What comes next?

With a renewed multi-year contract and a named flagship locomotive in place, the Daventry-Inverness flow will depend on whether further overhead electrification, Highland Main Line capacity upgrades linked to parallel A9 corridor decisions, wagon-fleet renewals and terminal capacity at Inverness keep pace with a supermarket chain's worth of daily grocery demand.