Trial of monthly bulk deliveries on the Thames launched

Cross River Partnership (CRP), a non-profit partnership organisation, has recently launched the second part of its River Freight Pilot, which will concentrate on monthly bulk deliveries on the Thames.

The trial is the second edition of CRP’s River Freight Pilot, which operated one delivery per week, for six weeks, over the summer of 2022. The initial river freight pilot aimed to demonstrate the potential of river freight as a viable and sustainable logistics solution.

Goods were delivered on the Thames into central London which resulted in a 78% saving in NOx and an 88% saving in CO2 (in comparison to traditional road-based delivery methods).

This year’s six-month trial is focused on the monthly bulk delivery of goods to make river freight more economically viable for the suppliers involved in the trial, and there is an ambition for the service to become a permanent feature of their future logistics operations.

The trial is a collaboration between Absolutely Courier, Antalis, CPBS Marine Services, Complete, Transport for London River Services, Mayflower Washroom Solutions, The Northbank BID and the Port of London Authority.

Goods are loaded at TfL’s Woolwich Ferry, Royal Borough of Greenwich, and travel into central London via the Thames to Temple Pier in City of Westminster. Cargo bikes, operated by Absolutely Courier, are then used to deliver goods from Temple Pier to their final destinations. Four vans are taken off the road per river freight journey.

The River Freight Pilot Part Two forms part of CRP’s wider activities to encourage sustainable logistics across London. This includes the development of rail freight and walking freight initiatives, helping to improve London’s air quality and supporting CRP’s vision to make London a better place to live, work and visit.

CRP has created several resources that provide The Northbank BID’s businesses with information on how to get involved with the River Freight Pilot Part Two, including onboarding criteria and next steps. These include presentations from The Northbank BID, Mayflower and Absolutely Courier. You can find a Q&A session about the scheme here.

CRP has also launched CRP’s Thames Directory to encourage businesses to consider using the river for freight in London. This interactive web tool provides information about utilising The River Thames for freight. Businesses can use the map to view information about London’s river infrastructure (piers and wharfs), whilst the Directory provides details on vessel operators and ultra-low emission (cargo bikes and electric vehicles) last mile couriers, which can help to deliver river freight operations.