Rail strike may lead to food shortage in stores

Stores could be left empty if planned massive rail strikes go ahead at the end of the month, stated a report on Wednesday (8) citing industry sources.

According to i,  there is still a genuine risk the strikes could lead to empty supermarket shelves in the week starting June 21, when three walkouts are scheduled.

The strikes also threaten widespread travel disruption during a number of major events, including concerts, Test match cricket and the Glastonbury festival.

Rail Freight Group director general Maggie Simpson has said that the pattern of strike action with industrial action on 21, 23 and 25 June was “as bad as it gets for rail freight, with disruption likely across the entire week and into the weekend”.

“Even with the plans that are in place, supply chains will be impacted, and it is really damaging to customer confidence in rail, and to future growth,” she said.

Jake Kelly, network operations director at Network Rail has assured that “nationally important freight flows – including supermarket supplies and fuel” will not be much affected during strike action.

However, the industry still fears supply chain disruption as freight lines are hit by walkouts from Network Rail signalers.

Supermarkets in particular may find it difficult to cope as rail often helps deliver products from warehouses to individual stores, which do not have the capacity to stockpile, stated the report, adding that the dependency on rail has increased due to HGV driver shortage. 

On the other hand, British Retail Consortium (BRC) has dismissed the concerns of strike causing food shortage saying that overall amount of retail food and goods transported by rail remains relatively low compared.

Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said, “While the use of freight train to carry retail goods has increased in response to both rising HGV operational costs and in efforts to cut carbon emissions, the overall amount of retail food and goods transported by rail remains relatively low compared with the amount transported by trucks.

“Consequently, it is unlikely that the rail strikes will have a big impact on the movement of food and other retail goods around the country.”

Prime minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday (8) described the strikes as “reckless and wanton” while speaking in the Commons.