King Charles' 'horrible' decision to axe royal train blasted by royal expert
The royal train cost hundreds of thousands to maintain each yearKing Charles has come under fire for his decision to axe the iconic royal train.
The royal train has been carrying members of the royal family up and down the country for over 180 years. It will make its final trip in 2027.
King Charles axes royal train in bid to save money
The royal train, which was loved by the late Queen Elizabeth, will be retired in 2027.
It has been used by British monarchs since the 1840s. The royal train is the last private, non-commercial train service in the UK, catering exclusively to one family.
Queen Elizabeth II reportedly once described it as one of the only places where she could relax in complete privacy.
The decision to scrap it comes down to cost, practicality, and King Charles‘ ongoing changing vision for the monarchy.
The train’s rolling stock mostly dates from the 1980s. This means that it requires significant upgrades to remain compatible with the modern rail network in the UK. It reportedly costs £900,000 per year to operate it.
Royal train scrapped
Meanwhile, two recently acquired, fuel-efficient royal helicopters serve much of the same travel needs at a much lower cost.
The royal train, of course, has been part of national life for many decades, loved and cared for by all those involved,” James Chalmers, Keeper of the Privy Purse, told The Guardian. “But in moving forward, we must not be bound by the past.”
“The time has come to bid the fondest of farewells as we seek to be disciplined and forward in our allocation of funding,” he then added.
However, despite being a major cost-saving measure for the royals, King Charles has come under fire from one commentator, who has branded the decision “horrible”.
Writing in the Daily Mail, commentator Peter Hitchens made his feelings very clear.
King Charles blasted over ‘horrible’ decision
“I think King Charles must be a secret petrolhead, much more like the dreaded, goggled maniac motorist Mr Toad than the gentle plant-loving nostalgist he seems to be at first sight. What else can explain his horrible, needless decision to scrap the royal train?” Hitchens fumed.
“The instruction saves almost no money, is poorly justified and is a brutal blow at the environment he claims to love so much. Trains, as we shall see, are a million times greener than cars and, as for helicopters and private jets, these things – which have survived the King’s cuts – are not green at all, even if they run on old bits of cheese and cooking oil,” he then added.
He also fumed over the fact that one of the reasons the train is being scrapped as it was only used twice in 2024.
“Change is not always progress. Trains are not some archaic survival. They combine extraordinary beauty with great modernity. Railways remain, by miles, the most modern, quietest, cleanest, most efficient, fastest, and least wasteful of all forms of powered ground transport,” he then wrote.
He concluded the article by arguing that the king should reverse his “foolish” decision and should make the train open to be used by the public when not being used by the royals.
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