{"id":237368,"date":"2025-07-04T12:18:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-04T12:18:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/237368\/"},"modified":"2025-07-04T12:18:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T12:18:14","slug":"why-britains-royal-train-is-coming-to-the-end-of-the-line-after-180-years-of-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/237368\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Britain\u2019s royal train is coming to the end of the line after 180 years of service"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Editor\u2019s note: Sign up for Unlocking the World, CNN Travel\u2019s weekly newsletter<\/a>. Get news about destinations, plus the latest in aviation, food and drink, and where to stay.\n<\/p>\n

CNN
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n In the early 1840s, Queen Victoria became the first British monarch to travel by train in her own dedicated royal saloons, but more than 180 years later, King Charles III looks set to oversee an end to this noble tradition.\n <\/p>\n

\n The current British royal train, decked out in its rich claret livery, will be decommissioned by March 2027 to \u201csecure best value for public money,\u201d according to the Royal Household\u2019s latest financial report. Instead, senior royals will make greater use of helicopters and scheduled trains for official visits around the country and to travel between their residences in England and Scotland.\n <\/p>\n

\n James Chalmers, Keeper of the Privy Purse \u2014 the ancient title of the individual responsible for royal finances \u2014 said the decision to stop the royal train would mean \u201cthe fondest of farewells,\u201d but added, \u201cIn moving forwards we must not be bound by the past.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n He noted: \u201cThe royal train, of course, has been part of national life for many decades, loved and cared for by all those involved.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Nowhere will that loss be felt more keenly than in the world\u2019s first railway town, Wolverton in Buckinghamshire, where royal trains have been lovingly housed and maintained since the very first vehicle in 1842.\n <\/p>\n

\"Back<\/p>\n

\n \u201cEverybody in Wolverton knows someone who has worked on the royal train and they\u2019re bloody proud of it,\u201d says Philip Marsh, senior railway manager, historian and author of \u201cThe Full Works,\u201d a book about the town and its royal train connections.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThis is incredibly sad news,\u201d said Andrea Rossi, chief executive of DB Cargo UK, which has managed the train on behalf of the British government for 30 years. \u201cNot just for DB Cargo UK\u2026 but for the broader railway family too.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThere is always a great sense of occasion when the royal train is out on the network. Our drivers take great pride in being asked to take the controls of what is arguably the most prestigious train in the UK and a piece of our national heritage.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Unlike the sumptuous velvet and gold-lined royal carriages of the 19th century, the current British royal train is surprisingly spartan and practical on the inside \u2014 more 1970s business hotel than palace-on-wheels. Its fixtures and fittings have grown outdated and while it still offers secure accommodation for official trips, its use has dwindled notably in recent years.\n <\/p>\n

\n Retirement was considered once before in 1997, but it was extensively used during Queen Elizabeth II\u2019s Golden and Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2002 and 2012, touring the country and witnessed by large crowds of wellwishers. It saw action in December 2020, when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge \u2014 Prince William and his wife Kate, now the Prince and Princess of Wales \u2014 took a 1,2500-mile tour of Britain by train to thank key workers for their efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic.\n <\/p>\n

Steam and ceremony<\/p>\n

\"In<\/p>\n

\n Over the last two decades it has even been paired with beautifully restored steam locomotives such as the world-famous Flying Scotsman and Duchess of Sutherland, adding an extra layer of pomp and circumstance to the occasion.\n <\/p>\n

\n Following the Queen\u2019s death in September 2022, it was expected to transport her coffin from Scotland to London but was sidelined due to concerns about security along the route.\n <\/p>\n

\n Built in the 1970s, the current royal train is approaching the end of its life. Refurbishing the collection of heavily modified and tailor-made vehicles to modern standards would likely cost tens of millions of dollars. Procuring replacement vehicles to bespoke designs would be even more expensive \u2014 particularly as state funding for the Royal Family has increased to cover the $500-million refurbishment of Buckingham Palace.\n <\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\n Some have expressed surprise and sadness that King Charles, known for his environmental advocacy, has chosen to scrap the train in favour of less sustainable options like helicopters. The announcement\u2019s timing, just weeks before Britain celebrates the 200th anniversary of public rail travel, has also drawn criticism.\n <\/p>\n

\n But the numbers don\u2019t look good.\n <\/p>\n

\n In 2024-25, the royal train made just two trips, costing over $105,000, according to the Royal Household\u2019s annual financial summary. That compares with 55 private charter flights costing almost $819,000, 141 helicopter trips averaging $4,600 each, and scheduled flights totaling $172,000. Royal travel overall cost $6.4 million last year, up $682,000 from the year before.\n <\/p>\n

\"In<\/p>\n

\n Britain\u2019s royals aren\u2019t alone in letting their trains go. Over the last 25 years, monarchies in Japan, Sweden and the Netherlands have retired theirs too. Only Denmark and Norway retain dedicated royal saloons, although they are seldom used.\n <\/p>\n

\n The first carriage built exclusively for use by a British royal was constructed at Wolverton Works by the London & Birmingham Railway for Queen Adelaide, the widow of King William IV, in 1842. For 25 years, Queen Victoria travelled in converted carriages until a bespoke vehicle was commissioned in 1869. British rail companies soon competed to provide ever more luxurious carriages for Victoria and her family, who regarded touring the country as part of their duties.\n <\/p>\n

\n By 1897, for Victoria\u2019s Diamond Jubilee, the Great Western Railway had built a complete train of six vehicles. Over the years, royal trains pioneered innovations such as onboard toilets, electric lighting, radios, telephones, bathtubs, bedrooms, air conditioning and luxury furnishings.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cInnovations on royal trains have filtered through to ordinary passenger trains in the same way that Formula 1 technology has cascaded down to our cars,\u201d says Marsh, the rail historian. \u201cIt\u2019s the safest form of travel and it allows the \u2018principals\u2019 to relax, attend briefings on the move and arrive rested at engagements after travelling overnight.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n After World War II, the nationalized British Railways inherited a large collection of royal vehicles, including armor-plated saloons. These were used until Queen Elizabeth II\u2019s Silver Jubilee in 1977, when the current train was assembled.\n <\/p>\n

\n The royal train is expected to make a final farewell tour of Britain before its 2027 retirement, offering rail fans and royal watchers a last chance to see it pass. Its future remains uncertain, but the survival rate of royal train vehicles is, with many residing in museums such as Britain\u2019s National Railway Museum in York.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI would not like to see them scrapped,\u201d concludes Marsh. \u201cI\u2019d like to see them displayed in a registered museum, whether that be the NRM or a new museum at their home in Wolverton.\u201d\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Editor\u2019s note: Sign up for Unlocking the World, CNN Travel\u2019s weekly newsletter. Get news about destinations, plus the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":237369,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5018,3,4],"tags":[748,393,4884,1144,712,16,15,1764],"class_list":{"0":"post-237368","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-britain","8":"category-uk","9":"category-united-kingdom","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-northern-ireland","14":"tag-scotland","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom","17":"tag-wales"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114794929335471468","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237368\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}