King Charles will stop using the royal train as the royal family plans to spend £100 million of public money to complete Buckingham Palace repairs. The monarch will retire the royal train by 2027 to save money.The palace work is part of a 10-year project costing £369 million, The Times reported.
The royal family received £86.3 million from public funds in 2024, and this amount will rise to £132.1 million a year for the next two years. The extra money will help finish the palace renovation on time.
Last year, the royal train cost nearly £78,000 for just two trips. One journey to JCB headquarters cost £44,822, and another to Bentley and a community centre cost £33,147.
In comparison, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh’s nine-day trip to Nepal cost £26,028 using regular flights. The royal train is expensive to maintain and removing it could save around £1 million yearly.
According to Buckingham Palace, it’s time to move forward and modernise. The train may visit more places before retirement. Some parts could later be displayed for the public.
Royal travel costs rose by £500,000 to £4.7 million, the highest since the COVID-19 pandemic. The King’s visit to Australia and Samoa in October cost Britain £400,535. The UK and Australian governments splitting the air travel bill.
Usually, Australia pays for such visits. But, the UK contributed as the King continued to Samoa. Helicopter travel cost the most, £1.6 million, according to The Times.
A total of 141 helicopter trips cost £475,290 while 55 charter flights cost £598,053. Scheduled flights cost £125,838 and train journeys £89,528.
Leasing two new helicopters last year also created some accounting concerns, according to palace records.
Buckingham Palace repair
During repair work at Buckingham Palace, asbestos was found and removed at a cost of £1.84 million. The total cost of asbestos removal stands at £2.2 million so far.
Due to ongoing work, upcoming visits by leaders like France President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump will be held at Windsor Castle.
The castle has been prepared for such events, with £605,000 spent on redesigning the east terrace garden for better public access. A new lead roof cost £804,000, and heating systems cost £917,000.
Last year, the royal household paid £1.9 million in council taxes. Electricity costs have jumped to £2.6 million while gas and water bills remained high.
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