In a surprising decision, King Charles III has axed the historic Royal Train after 156 years of service in a bold move to cut costs while British citizens struggle with rising expenses.
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The monarch’s decision to decommission the train by 2027 signals his commitment to modernizing the monarchy and eliminating wasteful spending.
Meanwhile, the Crown’s overall budget continues to balloon with taxpayer money.
The Royal Train, which has been in service since Queen Victoria’s reign in 1869, has become increasingly expensive to maintain.
A recent journey on the luxury locomotive cost British taxpayers over £44,000 for a single trip, according to palace officials.
With only two uses recorded in recent accounts, the train has become a symbol of extravagance that King Charles apparently can no longer justify.
James Chalmers, the palace official overseeing the king’s financial affairs, defended the decision to retire the historic train.
“The royal train, of course, has been part of national life for many decades, loved and cared for by all those involved. But in moving forward we must not be bound by the past,” Chalmers stated, highlighting the administration’s focus on fiscal responsibility.
While the train’s retirement is being promoted as a cost-cutting measure, the overall royal budget tells a different story.
The Sovereign Grant, which funds the monarchy’s official duties, remains at £86.3 million but will rise dramatically to £132.1 million for 2025-26 to complete renovations at Buckingham Palace.
This 53% increase raises serious questions about whether the monarchy is truly committed to fiscal restraint during a time when ordinary Britons face economic challenges.
The train’s nine carriages, pulled by different hired locomotives, will be replaced by two new fuel-efficient helicopters.
Last year alone, the Royal Family took 141 helicopter trips costing £475,000 – raising concerns that the “eco-friendly” King’s carbon footprint may actually increase despite his public commitment to environmental causes.
“Just as so many parts of the royal household’s work have been 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 in our allocation of funding,” said Chalmers, attempting to frame the decision as forward-thinking rather than a concession to public criticism.
Despite the cost-cutting rhetoric, royal travel expenses actually increased by £500,000 last year to a total of £4.7 million.
The largest single expense was £400,000 for the King and Queen’s trip to Australia and Samoa, highlighting how the monarchy continues to spend lavishly while ordinary citizens tighten their belts amid inflation and economic uncertainty.
Not everyone agrees with critics of royal spending.
Craig Prescott, a constitutional expert, defended the monarchy’s value, saying: “It’s something that puts Britain on the world stage in a way that few other things do. It’s one of those things that people think about when they think about Britain.”
Before being decommissioned, the Royal Train will make a farewell tour around the United Kingdom and may eventually be put on public display as a museum piece.
Royal train to be decommissioned following decades of service https://t.co/3vEckVsK0n pic.twitter.com/fy0Anw4QhB
— The Independent (@Independent) July 1, 2025
