Prince Charles And The Age Of The (Royal) Train

via NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAThttps://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com

By Paul Homewood

From the Telegraph:

Since the reign of Queen Victoria its well upholstered carriages and trusty locomotives have ferried members of the Royal Family the length and breadth of the country.

However, the expense of running the Royal Train led to questions from MPs over its continuing use and it was revealed in 2013 that it would soon have to be scrapped.

But The Telegraph can now reveal that the Royal Train is to continue into the foreseeable future.

The Queen is understood to have made it known that the train is her preferred mode of transport, and that she believes it to be a cost-effective and convenient way for the royal family to travel.

Tests were then carried out on the carriages, which revealed the train’s demise had been greatly exaggerated.

The Queen with Prince Andrew (right) and Prince Edward (centre) in a compartment of the Royal Train before departure from London in December 1965 Credit: Popperfoto/Getty Images

Instead of being ready for the scrapyard, Palace sources said the Royal Train was found to be in far better condition than previously thought. The source added there was now “no end in sight” to its use.

There were doubts over the train’s future when Sir Alan Reid, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, told a committee of MPs four years ago that the current rolling stock, mostly dating from the 1970s, had only five to ten years of service life left.

After that, he said, the prospect of replacing it would be a “major decision”, adding: “The figures are quite staggering.”

But with memories still fresh of the fate of the Royal Yacht Britannia – which was retired in 1997 to the Queen’s tearful distress – further tests were carried out on the train’s rolling stock.

The Royal Train at Wolverton Works, near Milton Keynes Credit: Phil Marsh

As a result it was discovered that its life could be extended by many years and that with further efficiency savings the train’s running costs could be reduced.

The Royal Train cost £800,000 in running and maintenance last year, down from £900,000 the previous year. It makes between around 15 trips annually at an estimated £52 per mile, compared with £12 per mile by air.

There was criticism after it was revealed a one-way trip between Windsor and York made by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in 2012 cost £20,221. As a result, the Queen has increasingly travelled on public trains in recent years to save money.

The latest royal account show that in 2015-2016 13 trips were made by members of the Royal family – seven by the Prince of Wales, five by the Queen and one by the Duke of Edinburgh alone, at a total cost of nearly £250,000, including a trip by Prince Charles from Ayr to Yorkshire and back to Aberdeen, costing £33,249.

It was last used by a Royal on January 24 and 25 to transport the Prince of Wales from Edinburgh to Leicester and on to Loughborough for a series of royal engagements, including a visit to Mountsorrel Railway and Rothley Community Heritage Centre, before being returned to Wolverton.

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Now I have no objection at all to the Queen using the Royal Train as much as she wants. It clearly affords her a good deal of comfort as she travels around the country, something she thoroughly deserves at her age.

But even she has realised that it is better to make trips by public trains where possible.

Is it not astonishing then that Prince Charles, who wants us to abandon much of our modern lifestyle to save us all from global warming, actually uses the train more than his mother does?

If he is so concerned about climate change, perhaps next time he might consider doing what the Queen does, and go by Intercity.