Rail chiefs slammed over air travelling expenses

NETWORK Rail staff travelling on business spent £1.3 million on UK flights in the last two years as it was cheaper to fly than to take the train.

Employees of public sector body NR took 8,353 domestic flights in the period from April 2013 to March 2015 and also spent £1.1m on 2,907 international flights. Around 90 per cent of the domestic flights were to Scotland.

Former operations managing director Robin Gisby spent most on domestic flights in this period, taking 15 flights between January 2013 and September 2014 costing £2,250 – and £4,430 on an international flight.

Mr Gisby, who left the company earlier this year, faced severe criticism for NR’s Christmas engineering overruns which led to chaotic scenes at Finsbury Park station in north London.

Some of the international flights were as far afield as Japan and Australia. NR said staff are allowed to travel in business class on any flight longer than five hours.

The Sun obtained the figures in a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

An NR spokesman said: “A total of £1.3m was spent on flights in 2013/14 and 2014/15 but £32m was spent on rail travel during that period. Our people are obliged to use the cheapest method available, sometimes that means by air but mostly we travel by rail.”

Mick Cash, general secretary of the RMT rail union, said: “Rail staff out there in all weathers, round the clock, battling to keep Britain moving will be disgusted to see the sums spent on luxury flights by their bosses at a time when engineers and signallers are fighting for a fair pay rise.”