With 2025 being the year of Railway 200, when the nation celebrates 200 years of the modern railway, new figures show that in the run-up to Christmas, freight transported by rail is playing an increasingly vital part in bringing Christmas cheer to the nation’s households.

The inspiration for Railway 200 came from the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825, which changed the world forever.

Although the origins of the railway were even earlier, they were built for carrying cargo, mainly using horses to pull wooden wagons loaded with coal.

In preparation for the festive period, freight trains have carried more than 1 billion tonnes of goods, including millions of Christmas trees, bottles of wine, food, decorations, and presents.

The more goods that are transported by rail equate to less traffic on the roads, as the amount of goods carried by one freight train is the same as 129 HGVs.

Among the millions of festive goods carried by freight trains to shops around the country are Christmas crackers, Christmas puddings, mince pies, decorations, wrapping paper, trees, toys and wine.

This Christmas, dedicated freight trains will have transported about a third of goods for supermarket chain Tesco.

Tesco’s distribution network plays a vital role in its efforts to become carbon neutral in its operations by 2035.

With over 30 per cent of its packaged Christmas range being moved by rail, it is a more sustainable way to get products to its stores.

Each year, freight trains replace thousands of lorry journeys, with the consequent reduction in emissions.

During the three months since mid-September, over 12,000 freight trains have carried more than 1.1 billion tonnes of consumer goods and fresh produce, which is an increase of 10% and 4% respectively over the same period last year. In the final week before Christmas, 1,000 trains will carry about 90 million tonnes of seasonal goods between ports and freight terminals throughout the UK.

To increase the volume of goods carried by a single freight train, Tesco has trialled the use of double-stacked containers. Direct Rail Services (DRS) has a contract until 2028 to operate Tesco’s container trains.

“Rail freight companies are delighted to play a central role in delivering Christmas cheer during rail’s bicentenary year, ensuring families have everything they need to celebrate in style. With only a fraction of the emissions compared to road haulage, every tree, pudding and toy transported by rail helps to make a green Christmas. Many friends and families around the Christmas table will be unaware that much of their festive fare was carried to market by rail freight, one of Santa’s not-so-little helpers.”

Richard Moody, Programme Director at Network Rail