Train chiefs blow £3m on f lights for staff – as it’s cheaper than rail

NETWORK Rail has spent more than £ million on flying its staff around the UK in the past five years – saying it is often both cheaper and quicker than taking the train.

The state-backed company which oversees Britain’s rail infrastructure has revealed it spends more than £600,000 a year on flights to send staff to training courses and meetings.

It splashed out £594,742 on economy plane tickets last year, including £414 for a return flight from Birmingham to Glasgow to attend a training course. Other examples included £ 66 for a one-way flight from Glasgow to London for a meeting and a single trip from the East Midlands to Glasgow for £245.

A single first-class train fare from Glasgow Central to London Euston booked on a Friday and travelling on a Sunday would cost £164. But the average journey time is almost six hours, compared with about an hour and a quarter for a flight. Network Rail was forced to reveal the details following a Freedom of Information request. It said the vast majority of business trips were taken by train.

Graham Stringer, a Labour member of the Commons transport committee, said: ‘Network Rail needs to work on improving their own efficiency if planes are cheaper – as well as quicker – than the trains. I think commuters would expect Network Rail employees to use their own product – they might then understand how poor services often are.’

Network Rail said 98 per cent of its business journeys were taken by rail and it was ‘mindful of the fact that the money we spend is public money’.