King agrees to scrap royal train after two trips add up to $167,000 bill

London: The royal train will soon leave the station for the last time, with King Charles deciding to scrap the service that dates back to Queen Victoria because it is no longer cost-effective.

Victoria, Charles’ great-great-great-grandmother, commissioned the first royal rail carriages back in 1869. The latest incarnation is made up of nine carriages that can be coupled to commercial locomotives, the most recent of them added in 1986.

Queen Elizabeth II and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, arrive by the royal train at Runcorn Station, in north-west England in 2018.Credit: AP

King Charles arrives via the royal train at Manchester in January 2023.Credit: AP

But it was used just twice during the past financial year, with the two journeys together costing almost £80,000 ($167,000).

James Chalmers, the king’s treasurer, said the monarch had now agreed that the train – which critics had long said was a waste of money – would reach the end of the line in 2027.

“In moving forwards we must not be bound by the past,” said Chalmers, officially known as the Keeper of the Privy Purse.

The royal train steaming through England in 2005.Credit: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

Charles as a boy with his mother the Queen, as the royal train leaves Weymouth in southern England.Credit: PA Images via Getty Images

“Just as so many parts of the royal household’s work have modernised and adapted to reflect the world of today, so too the time has come to bid the fondest of farewells, as we seek to be disciplined and forward-looking in our allocation of funding.”

While the King had fond memories of the train, palace officials said it would require significant funds to pay for its long-term use, although it was not clear how much scrapping it would save.

The announcement came as Chalmers on Monday unveiled the annual report of the Sovereign Grant – the government handout that covers staffing costs, upkeep of royal palaces and travel expenses.

Charles and his sister, Princess Anne, wave to the crowd from the royal train at Aberdeen as they make their way to Balmoral in August 1952.Credit: Paul Popper; Paul Popper Ltd.

It is currently set at 12 per cent of the profit from the Crown Estate – a portfolio of properties that are owned by the monarch during his reign.

Thanks to a boom in revenue from offshore wind leases, the Crown Estate’s profits are soaring, meaning royal funds will leap from £86.3 million to £132 million for the next two years.

Chalmers said this money would help pay for the remaining £100 million needed to complete the 10-year repairs to Buckingham Palace and the maintenance of other historic buildings.

The Crown Estate is one of the many relics of Britain’s feudal past. The properties are professionally managed, and the King cannot dispose of the assets.

Then-Prince Charles and Princess Anne stop at Aberdeen on their way home to London in October 1956.Credit:

King George III surrendered management of the crown lands to parliament in 1760 in return for a fixed payment from the Treasury.

The royal finances remain a topic of public debate, with Charles pledging to slim down the monarchy and cut costs as he seeks to ensure the institution’s survival.

Buckingham Palace was quick to point out that while the Sovereign Grant has been unchanged for the past four years, inflation has eroded its value. If the grant had increased in line with inflation, it would have been about £106 million this year, the palace said.

Craig Prescott, a constitutional law expert at Royal Holloway, University of London who focuses on the political role of the monarchy, said funding for the royals was relatively small when compared to the overall cost of the British state and it provides tangible benefits for the country.

Queen Elizabeth at work on the royal train in 2002.Credit: Getty Images

“It’s something that puts Britain on the world stage in a way that few other things do,” he said, noting that Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral was the largest gathering of world leaders in history and the coronation was broadcast around the world.

“It’s one of those things that people think about when they think about Britain.”

Anti-monarchists, who say the monarchy’s price tag amounts to more than half a billion pounds, said the annual reports were misleading.

The Prince of Wales’ lounge on the royal train.Credit: PA Images via Getty Images

“The cost of the monarchy is out of control and these reports receive almost no political scrutiny,” Graham Smith, chief executive of campaign group Republic, said.

Last November, the Sunday Times and a TV documentary accused Charles and his elder son, Prince William, of making millions from the country’s health service, army and schools from charges imposed by the monarch’s Duchy of Lancaster estate and the heir’s Duchy of Cornwall estate.

William Bax, the chief executive of the Duchy of Cornwall, acknowledged that criticism as he detailed its annual report on Monday, saying they were making changes at a time of “reflection and evolution”.

Bax said they intended to end or reduce rents charged to some community groups and charities, while the report showed William’s personal income from the Duchy had fallen slightly to just under £23 million.

The royal train in Liverpool in 2011.Credit: Getty Images

Chalmers said the global significance of the royals could not be underestimated, citing a Global Perceptions Survey which found the monarchy the single biggest influence on perceptions of the UK among international audiences.

Over the past year, Charles travelled to Australia and attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa – his first as the organisation’s head. The royals also took centre stage at the 80th anniversaries of D-Day and VE Day, which marked the end of World War II in Europe.

Overall, the royals made 1900 public appearances in the UK and overseas. Some 93,000 guests attended 828 events at the royal palaces.

AP, Reuters

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.