Transport

Map showing the existing and proposed transport links to and from the Dagenham Dock site.

Key

Existing A13 Road

Existing Railway

Connecting to Key Centres

Site Entrance

Co-locating the three markets at Dagenham Dock requires a mix of transport methods to ensure the markets are accessible, efficient and promote a more sustainable environment. To achieve this, we are looking at a variety of methods using the road and rail networks, and, potentially, the River Thames.

Rail

If the markets are to be less reliant on the road network, we need to explore alternatives to road transport.

One option we are looking at is using the rail network to deliver produce to and from the market.

We are working with relevant stakeholders to secure a deeper understanding of how we could use the rail network and what challenges we would need to overcome to make it successful.

Road

We know that the road network, in particular the A13, presents a real challenge for the new markets opening at Dagenham Dock.

Our transport consultants and Be First are supporting Transport for London with a Strategic Plan for the road. The plan will seek to prioritise shorter-term improvements to the A13, to enable the co-located markets to open around 2026/2027 – and will also consider the longer-term improvements required.

River

The Thames is one of London’s greatest assets, and in line with our commitment to promote a more sustainable environment, we are looking at the use of the river for transporting produce, reducing the number of market vehicles on the road.

To use the river for transporting goods, we will need to have access to infrastructure such as a jetty and nearby land to establish a river consolidation centre.

We are working closely with the Greater London Authority, Port of London Authority and nearby landowners about the river consolidation centre in Dagenham and also the potential to develop other wharves in central London for use by the markets and other logistics providers.

Case Study – Franprix: Supplying Parisian supermarkets using the River Seine

In 2012, Franprix, a French food retail company supported by XPO Logistics started using the river as a transport mode to deliver produce to 100 of their supermarkets in the heart of Paris.

The shipment is transported in containers, from the warehouse to a river port in the outskirts of the city by vehicle. From there it is shipped by barge on the River Seine for 15km to the Quai de la Bourdonnais, located near the Eiffel Tower.

Since the launch in 2012, XPO has continued to increase the number of containers transported by the river. Today, 250 Franprix stores in the French capital are supplied by mobile barges arriving at the Bourdonnais Quay.

The ‘last mile’ delivery to each supermarket has also been improved since the 2012 launch. Delivery is carried out by vehicles complying with Euro VI emissions standards, and since the beginning of 2019, around half of the truck fleet run on compressed natural gas.

XPO estimate that in 2019 the river barge solution equates to:

9,000 fewer truck trips annually.
35% reduction in carbon emissions (compared with an all road solution).

XPO expects to add a second barge on the Seine to service more Franprix stores and meet a projected increase to 11,000 containers.