- The British Royal Train will be officially decommed due to the cost of maintenance in March 2027.
- Royals will shift to use helicopters and scheduled trains for traveling between residences in UK
- Before its retirement, the Royal train will go on a UK’s farewell tour, which will give the public a chance to say goodbye.
Train journey is almost synonymous with British culture. But in March 2027, current British royal train The decomination will be done, and senior royals will depend on helicopters and scheduled trains to travel between across the country and their residences instead.
“In anticipation of the end of the current contract in March 2027, the process of decomposing the Royal train will begin during the year,” Sovereign Grant Annual Report 2024-25 States. “This decision has been made for this reason: the level of cost vs. use of royal train storage and maintenance, significant levels of investment that would be required to keep the Royal train in operation beyond 2027; and two new helicopters offer a reliable option.”
The current train was built in the 1970s and requires tailor renewal, which will most likely be tens of millions of dollars. The original royal train was built in 1842 for Queen Adelaide, widow of King William IV. In 1869, Queen Victoria launched a Bespoke train vehicle for himself, as he saw the country as an important part of his duties. In 1897, for her Diamond Jubilee (60th year celebration of her reign), the Great Western Railway built a train of six vehicles for the use of Rani Victoria.
Some people are surprised that King Charles, known for his environmental activism, will oversee the closure of the train in favor of less durable options such as helicopters. This announcement also comes that irony is that the UK will celebrate the 200th anniversary of public rail travel before Britain. But in the previous year, the Royal train made only two trips, compared to 55 private charter flights, 141 helicopter travels and several scheduled flights.
However, the UKIt is not alone or completely unique in its decision. The other European monarchy has allowed their royal car trains to go over the last 25 years, with only Denmark and Norway present. And even in those two countries, trains are rarely used.
Train lovers and fans British royal family There will be one last chance to see the Royal train before going out of the commission. Before its retirement of 2027, the Royal train will make the UK final farewell tour, allowing the public to see it once more to see it. It is not clear what will happen to the royal train, after that it will be decrected, but important train cars are often preserved in museums, so there can be opportunities to see and watch this train again, sometimes in the future.