The new rail link between Valencia and Dagenham that opened for business last week is definitely a step in the right direction for a fresh produce industry under immense pressure to cut its transport footprint.

Not only does this new move promise to ease congestion on Europe’s already over-crowded road network, it also offers a real opportunity to cut carbon emissions and make the whole business of transporting fresh produce from Spain a leaner, greener operation.

For years now the food industry has played around with the idea of making rail transport a more viable option for imports into the UK, but our island status has always seemed to impede any progress. Eurotunnel opened in 1994, but amazingly it has taken 15 years for the rail operator to recognise the benefits of a fully refrigerated service connecting the continent and the UK under the Channel.

It is also good to see some big names, in both the worlds of logistics and produce, already backing the project. I strongly suspect others will follow suit when the results of the project become more tangible.

With criticism mounting over the number of lorries from the continent trucking fresh produce into the UK, with any luck this latest move will showcase the efforts being made to address the transport issue and will answer some of the industry’s harshest critics.