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4 months ago
23
The Royal train racked up a £52,000 bill despite only being used once in the year, account show.
King Charles took the luxury locomotive on a two-day trip to Pickering in North Yorkshire, to mark the centenary of the Flying Scotsman in June last year.
It was the third most expensive official engagement over the 12-month period after His Majesty’s five-day state visit to Kenya and three-day state visit to France.
There are growing calls to scrap the Royal train following the late Queen’s death as it is seen as anachronistic and poor value for money.
It was famously her ‘favourite way to travel’ but on average costs between £25,000 to £30,000 per journey including fuel and supplies.
The Royal train racked up a £52,000 bill despite only being used once in the year to travel to Yorkshire, accounts reveal (pictured: The Flying Scotsman heading to Edinburgh)
Charles meeting staff and volunteers who helped the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and Flying Scotsman reach its 50 year anniversary in June 2023
On the platform at the station, Charles walked down the platform, meeting the custodian of Flying Scotsman, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill
While the current model came into service in 1977 there has always been a Royal Train since 1842.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said it still provides ‘an effective and operationally efficient level of transport for His Majesty to perform individual duties’.
They added: ‘It provides overnight security and thereby mitigates security costs of others. We have said that we will review the usage of the Royal train during this reign.
‘We are 18 months into the reign and therefore that pattern of usage is still to be determined, but we are committed to reviewing its use in the coming years.’
Back in June 2023, his Majesty was all smiles as the Royal train was ushered into Pickering by the famous steam locomotive.
The King arrived in the market town following a trip to the North Yorkshire Moors celebrating the train's 50th anniversary.
Although he was wearing a light-coloured suit at the time, King Charles didn't shy away from hoping aboard the footplate of the 100-year-old engine when invited to.
After he departed the station, the King was met with hundreds of well-wishers as he made his way through the town.
The monarch could be seen asking the many children who gathered around if they had been enjoying their half-term break at the time.
Temperatures were so warm on the day, one woman passed out, with the King signaling to his protection officers to help.
Reflecting on the monarch's journey on his mother's 'favourite' locomotive, flying Scotsman's driver, Chris Cubitt, said of Charles: 'He said he enjoyed the trip.
'He's a regular because he has been here before when he opened the station in 2000.
King Charles was in high spirits when he visited the Yorkshire town travelling using the royal train
Charles appeared delighted to be viewing the train in June 2023, and could be seen chatting with members of staff
The Flying Scotsman pictured arriving into Marylebone station in celebration marking the 150th Anniversary of the Founding of the Great Western Railway
'He's on his way to Scarborough now through my village. 'I invited him in for tea, but he said he couldn't come.'
Mr Cubitt, who started working on the railways in 1961, said: 'He's interested in everything. He's a good egg. He likes everything heritage. He was a gentleman.'
When queried if he felt slightly more nervous than usual pulling the King's train in 2023, he added: 'The driver's job is to get to the destination on time, and what's going on behind - doesn't matter if it's a load of cattle, fish, passengers or whatever - that's somebody else's problem.
'We look after the train and get it there safely.
'He's the same as me. We all come into the world together. We've just got to look after each other whilst we're there.'
How often is it used, who by and what for? Q&A on the Royal Train
- The royals have their own train?
Yes. The present Royal train came into service in 1977 to mark the Queen's Silver Jubilee, but the royal family have had their own dedicated train since Queen Victoria's reign.
- What does it look like?
Its livery is a pristine, highly polished burgundy known as Royal Claret, emblazoned with royal crests, with black coach lining and grey roof.
It has nine carriages - but not all of them are always used.
- Is the inside very luxurious?
Surprisingly not. The Royal train is more functional than palatial and its furnishings are outdated.
Royal aides once described it as being fitted with bathroom fixtures 'you could find in Homebase or B&Q' and the decor as 'very G-Plan' which was popular in the 1960s and 70s.
In 2002, Buckingham Palace officials allowed journalists a rare glimpse in an attempt to destroy the perception that it was as lavish as the Orient Express.
- Who uses it?
Normally only the most senior royals - the late Queen and Prince Philip both used the train while alive, while King Charles, Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales have also used the train.
- Anyone else?
The corgis used to accompany the late Queen - and also the Queen Mother - onboard for journeys to Sandringham or Balmoral.
There is also space for royal aides and servants.
- What is it used for?
For official engagements, and for longer journeys around the UK such as to Scotland or Norfolk, especially when the Queen's children were young.
It allows the royals to travel overnight and arrive rested ready to carry out a full day of engagements.
The monarch toured Britain on the train for her Golden Jubilee in 2002.
- Does the King have his own carriage?
Yes. Charles has his own lounge car with a bedroom, bathroom and study with a small writing desk and a blue and white floral patterned sofa which matches the curtain fabric.
The other carriages include dining cars, a general purpose saloon for senior staff with sleeping quarters, a sleeping car for junior staff with bunk beds and a carriage for escort staff and maintenance workers.
- What about food?
A royal chef usually joins the train, with menus meticulously planned.
- How often is the Royal train used?
It depends on the royal diary.
Only three trips - two by the then-Prince of Wales and one by the Queen - were taken on the Royal train in the 2019/2020 financial year, but the total cost was more than £63,000.
- How much?
The cost - met by the taxpayer - has long been controversial and the train was nearly scrapped in 2013 when it was feared the rolling stock would have to be replaced.
During the Golden Jubilee year of 2002, the train's journeys cost £872,000.
Its service contract is also an additional £300,000 a year and it is maintained by the German firm DB Cargo UK.
- How much does it cost per mile?
It depends on the journey. In 2017, an £18,317 trip by Charles from London to Cwmbran cost, according to calculations by the PA news agency, £130.84 per mile.
A standard anytime rail ticket for the same journey at the time cost just £1.30 per mile.
- Can't the royal family catch a normal train?
They sometimes do.
- So why is there still a Royal train?
Royal aides believe it offers the best option for safety, security, efficiency and minimum disruption to others.
The Queen also likes it. It is her preferred mode of transport for its privacy and convenience, and it removes the need for an exceptionally early start.
It often travels overnight so as to not to slow up other trains, plus accommodation does not need to be arranged for the royals, and, unlike helicopters, it can run in bad weather.
- Who else has used it?
The Duchess of Sussex accompanied the Queen to Cheshire on the Royal train in 2018 for what was her first joint royal engagement with the monarch.
- Can I travel on the Royal train?
No. It's for royals only.
Dignitaries are sometimes allowed to use it. Cherie Blair hosted a trip on the train for the wives of the leaders of the G8 group of nations in 1998.
- What about the engine?
The Royal train is pulled by one of two Class 67 locomotives - 67005 - The Queen's Messenger and 67006 - Royal Sovereign, both decorated in royal claret livery.
They are run on environmentally friendly bio-fuel made from waste vegetable oil.
A third Class 67 - 67026 - Diamond Jubilee - which features silver livery, a union flag and a Diamond Jubilee logo was used during the 2012 celebrations.
- So it's not pulled by a steam locomotive?
Only every now and then for special occasions.
- Weren't there engines called Prince William and Prince Henry?
Prince William and Prince Henry - named after William and his brother Harry - were a pair of Royal Class 47 locomotives which used to pull the Royal train, but they were retired in 2004.
- When was the first Royal train introduced?
A dedicated carriage was built for the royal family in 1840, with the Dowager Queen Adelaide, the widow of William IV, becoming the first to ride in it.
- What about Queen Victoria?
Victorians believed that driving on fast trains could send you insane.
But Queen Victoria was finally persuaded to travel by rail in 1842 went on a 25-minute passage on the Royal train from Slough to Paddington with Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who designed Great Western Railway, riding on the footplate.
- Was she converted to rail travel?
Yes. The 23-year-old wrote in her diary that the journey was 'delightful and so quick'.
By 1869, she had commissioned a set of private carriages, decorated in luxurious blue silk and 23-carat gold like a palace on wheels.
- Have there been any controversial journeys?
In 2000, a royal bodyguard discharged his gun on the train while the Queen was sleeping. The bullet hole can still be seen on a table in the staff dining car.
In 1980, a front page story claimed that a young Lady Diana Spencer had been sneaked aboard the Royal train at night to be with Charles, three months before their engagement.
Charles, Diana and her mother always insisted the tale was false.
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