A new freight hub that will support more sustainable logistics across London has opened on a six-month trial underneath Waterloo Station.
Launched by the Cross River Partnership (CRP), the Waterloo Freight Hub will improve air quality across London by shifting freight journeys from vans to electrically assisted cargo bikes, supporting communities to receive more sustainable deliveries at no extra cost.
CRP has been working closely with partners from Network Rail, the London Borough of Lambeth, the Department for Transport, London and Continental Railways, and Waterloo Station, to unlock the potential of underutilised space at Waterloo Station for a freight hub.
The trial will see parcels received at an arch space, sized approximately 1,800sq ft, in the undercroft of Waterloo Station, by van. Parcels will then be sorted and sent across London to residents and businesses by 10 electrically assisted cargo bikes run by sustainable last-mile logistics courier Delivery Mates. This will ensure more Londoners receive deliveries by zero-tailpipe emission vehicles, helping to reduce congestion, improve productivity, air quality and the health of Londoners moving around the city.
The Waterloo Freight Hub has been funded by Defra, through the Smarter Greener Logistics programme, which aims to minimise the impact of freight on noise, air quality, traffic and pavement space by making improvements across 14 London boroughs and three London Business Improvement Districts (BIDs).
One quarter of London’s total emissions comes from road transport, with freight being responsible for a quarter of London’s transport emissions.
With continued changes to shopping behaviour, the number of parcels delivered in London is expected to double by 2030, to potentially one billion parcels annually.
CRP will share learnings from the trial to support the delivery of a longer-term, much larger, Waterloo Freight Hub, with middle-mile deliveries made by road, rail and river. The partnership says the rail network is unique in being able to transport huge loads of goods at a fraction of the cost of road transport, particularly into dense, urban centres, where vital train station infrastructure is at the heart of cities, including London. Waterloo could act as a crucial nexus of freight across London and Britain to support the decarbonisation of freight transport, providing boosts to green jobs, productivity, air quality and making London a safer and more sustainable city.
Ross Phillips, sustainable transport manager, Cross River Partnership, said: “This has been a truly collaborative process between many public and private stakeholders, and we hope it can help to demonstrate the long-term potential for transforming the way that freight comes into, and is delivered across, London. We can look forward to less congested streets, smaller / quieter and non-polluting vehicles, as well as deliveries via rail at a fraction of the cost of road transport.”
