End of an era as King Charles AXES royal train after 150 years as cost of keeping iconic vehicle going hits £1.2m a year

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THE Royal Train is being axed — ending more than 150 years of tradition.
It will go on a 'fond ­farewell' tour of the country before being retired to a museum, it was announced yesterday.
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The Royal Train is being axed — ending more than 150 years of the tradition
Credit: PA:Press Association
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The Royal Family head for Sandringham in 1962
Credit: Reginald Davis
The train has been a favourite with royals, plus their fans across the nation.
But King Charles, 76, is said to be fully on board with the cost-cutting decision, as The Firm now prefers to use two new helicopters.
Buckingham Palace's annual report reveals the train has only been used twice for official engagements in the past financial year — at a cost of £77,969.
The annual upkeep is estimated to hit £1.2million and spiralling costs of renovating the nine 1980s carriages are said to mean the end of the line.
The decommissioning will begin later this year with it officially out of service before March 2027.
The time has come to bid fondest of farewells
James Chalmers, Keeper of the Privy Purse
James Chalmers, Keeper of the Privy Purse, said: 'The Royal Train has, of course, been a part of national life for many decades, loved and cared for by all those involved. But in moving forwards we must not be bound by the past.
'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.
'With His Majesty's support, it has therefore been decided that the process to decommission the Royal Train will commence next year, in anticipation of the expiry of the current maintenance ­programme in March 2027.
'Before it finally goes out of ­service, it is our hope that the train will make further visits to parts of the UK, while discussions will begin on finding a long term home where some particularly ­historic elements might go on ­public display.'
The move coincides with the Government privatising passenger services — but the palace insists the decision was made due to the end of the maintenance contract.
The Prince of Wales greets schoolchildren and participates in referee training
Last year, the King used the Royal Train to visit the Bentley HQ, in Crewe, and a two-day trip for engagements at JCB World in Rocester, Staffs, and in Burton upon Trent.
It was used just once in 2023/24 — at a cost of £52,013.
That year the royals made 170 journeys by chopper costing £1,096,300. In the past financial year there were 141 helicopter trips costing a total of £475,290.
It is understood that royal ­planners believe the two helicopters offer a more flexible and reliable alternative to the train for reaching far-flung engagements.
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Queen Elizabeth and Philip on a visit to Birmingham in 2015
Credit: Getty Images - Getty
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King Charles in Manchester in 2023
Credit: Reuters
The Royal Train relies on carriages built in 1987 and would need massive investment at the end of the current contract.
The Palace is expecting scores of invites to ­display the carriages or their historic souvenirs.
Queen Victoria became the first reigning monarch to catch a train when she travelled from Slough to London Paddington in June 1842.
'As much like the Royal Yacht as possible'
In 1869, she commissioned a ­special pair of carriages by the London & North Western Railway.
King Edward VII ordered a new Royal Train in 1902 — saying it should be designed 'as much like the Royal Yacht as possible'.
King George V used it to tour the UK to raise morale during the First World War.
He had the first bath installed on a train and chose to sleep on board to cut costs.
Radio was installed in 1935.
The Second World War saw ­security ramped up for King George VI — with easy-to-spot white-roofed wooden cars replaced with 56-ton armoured carriages.
Special cabinets were fitted to store top secret documents.
The Royal Family has had designated royal carriages throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including when the railways were nationalised in 1948.
Queen Elizabeth, sons Andrew and Charles and sister Princess Margaret were pictured in the train heading for Sandringham at Christmas 1962.
In 1977 British Rail built new carriages for Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh to mark Her Majesty's Silver Jubilee.
Additional carriages to be used by the then-Prince of Wales were added in 1986, taking the total to nine, including two for support.
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The Royals now prefer travelling by helicopter
Credit: JON BOND- The Sun
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Axing the train will mean more money for Buckingham Palace
Credit: PA
The train was used for a host of visits at the Golden and Diamond Jubilees, with specially painted ­liveries to mark the milestones.
Kate and William travelled on the Royal Train through England, Scotland and Wales, finishing up at Windsor, on a three-day trip in December 2020, to thank people who had helped communities ­during the pandemic.
In June 2022, Queen Elizabeth took her final journey to Scotland aboard the Royal Train and was greeted at Edinburgh by Prince Edward.
She died less than three months later. Instead of using the Royal Train, her coffin was flown back to London by the RAF.
Prince William is understood to be aware of the decision to call time on the train.
The annual accounts also revealed the Sovereign Grant, which is taken from Crown Estates profits and supports the official duties of the Royal Family, will remain at £86.3million for a fourth consecutive year.
But the Sovereign Grant for the financial year 2025/26 will 'increase temporarily' to £132million.
Mr Chalmers explained: 'This temporary increase in the grant in the final two years of the Buckingham Palace Reservicing is needed to deliver the remaining £100million of the originally agreed funding.'
The Palace's State Rooms are out of action, meaning state banquets, such as French President Emmanuel Macron's VIP dinner in July and US President Donald Trump's expected state visit in September, will be held at Windsor Castle.
This uplift fills the shortfall after work on the ten-year £369million renovation had to be paused as a consequence of Covid and budgetary constraints.
Meanwhile, royal travel increased by £500,000 to £4.7million and ­payroll costs were up £2million to £29.9million.
It also emerged that Australia only paid 50 per cent of the travel costs for the King and Queen to visit last October — meaning £400,435 had to come from the Sovereign Grant.
It is usual to pay the full costs of the Monarch's visit.
Buckingham Palace also confirmed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's former Windsor home, Frogmore Cottage, remains empty and there are no immediate plans for new tenants.
The Sussexes, who paid back the £2.4million spent on renovations when they stepped back from royal duty to live in the US, were evicted and handed back the keys in the summer of 2023.
Prince Andrew later turned down the offer to move in and give up Royal Lodge.
The annual report went on to reveal a record 4.2 million new ­visitors to the official royal websites — with almost 400 million views of video content and a total 1.3 billion impressions.
The Royal Family carried out more than 1,900 engagements and there were more than 93,000 guests at 828 palace events.
The royals received around 123,000 messages, including at least 41,000 sending good wishes to the King and Princess of Wales for their ­cancer struggles.