Back on track, royal train saved from axe
THE royal train could be saved from the scrapyard after the Queen made it known it is still her favoured mode of transport.
Instead, it will be used “several times” this year, says a Buckingham Palace source, and will continue to be used by the Royal Family for the foreseeable future.
This is despite pressure from MPs to scrap the service, which was first introduced during the reign of Queen Victoria.
Scrapped
Politicians have previously raised questions about the cost of the service – understood to be around £800,000 per year.
However, the Queen is understood to have let it be known the train is her preferred way to travel.
The 90-year-old monarch, who recently celebrated her Sapphire Jubilee, is also believed to regard the service as cost effective.
The current carriages originate from the 1970s and senior political figures have suggested that the service should be rather than replaced.
Sir Alan Reid, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, told a committee of MPs in 2013 that the rolling stock had up to 10 years of service life left in it.
A royal household source said: “For the Queen and members of the Royal Family it is a sensible and cost-effective way of travelling, scrapped enabling them to stay the night close to the location of an engagement the following day – but without causing the disruption or security costs that, say, a hotel in a city centre would entail.”
Buckingham Palace yesterday declined to comment.