Britain’s Royal Train will be decommissioned by 2027 as a cost-cutting measure as the Royal Family leans into helicopter travel as a means to rapidly cross the United Kingdom.
The nine-carriage rake, specially built with travelling offices, bedrooms, and a dining room for the Royals is to be decommissioned as it has fallen out of frequent use and yet still incurs considerable costs. The Times states the decision will save one million pounds a year, and that King Charles made the decision in consultation with his son, Prince William, as an alternative to refurbishing the train’s now-30-year-old interiors.
The Royal Train was only used twice last year, at a cost of tens of thousands of pounds a go. The BBC notes Royals will still travel on regular public trains, as they already frequently do. In the recent past, the Royal Train was cited as underlining the King’s green credentials.
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – SEPTEMBER 06: Prince Charles, Prince of Wales boards the royal train at Glasgow Central station on September 6, 2010 in Glasgow, Scotland. Prince Charles embarked on his five day tour of the UK to promote sustainable living. Prince Charles will be travelling on the Royal Train which is powered by bio fuel as he takes his tour to cities and towns from Glasgow to London.. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
The shift away from rail travel has seen a surge in the use of helicopters, with “141 helicopter trips were taken last year, costing £475,000” as well as “55 private charter flights costing almost £600,000”.
The association between monarchs and rail travel goes back very nearly as far as the invention of train travel itself, with Royal Families and Presidents having private trains in many countries around the world. There were Royal coaches in the United Kingdom from the 1840s and a full Royal train was built by the end of the 19th century.
Several railways provided Royal trains to the monarch until a new single Royal train was built in 1977 for the late Queen’s Silver Jubilee by the then-nationalised state rail company, British Rail. Unlike earlier Royal trains the rake is decidedly spartan, with unadorned interiors and plain furniture.
The announcement comes within weeks of the British government beginning the nationalisation of the British rail network, and in the year of the 200th anniversary of the invention of rail travel by British engineers.
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