King Charles Cuts Royal Train After $107,000 in Trips in Past Year

King Charles III is making a modern change to a royal family tradition.

The British monarch’s new financial secretary announced on Tuesday, July 1, that the Royal Train is set to be decommissioned in 2027 after a series of needed renovations deemed the method of transformation to be cost ineffective.

“The Royal Train has been 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,” James Chalmers, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, said in a statement. “Just as so many parts of the Royal household’s work have been modernized 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.”

Chalmers noted that Charles, 76, signed off on the decision and explained that there will be discussions regarding “a long-term home where some particularly historic elements” of the train will be displayed.

The announcement came after The Firm released their financial report for 2024-2025. The report explained that the decision to decommission the train came after comparing “the cost associated with the storage and maintenance of the Royal Train versus the level of usage.” There would also be a “significant level of investment” to keep the train in operation. (The latest series of major improvements made on the train took place in 1980.)

Maintenance for the train is already under contract until 2027 but will not be renewed. The royal family will continue to use the Royal Train until it is decommissioned.

The late Queen Elizabeth II used the Royal Train as her preferred method of transportation until her death in 2022. Charles, meanwhile, has only taken a trip on the train twice this year — and it’s been pretty costly. The trips combined cost an estimated £78,000 (which converts to about $107,000.)

Instead of taking the Royal Train, family members will have an alternative in two new helicopters added to the fleet. While Charles only used the Royal Train twice in the past year, the royal family has traveled by helicopter 141 times and used 55 privately chartered flights, according to Tuesday’s financial report.

The report also noted that the royal family’s cost of travel came in at £4.7 million (about $6.4 million), a near half a million jump from last year’s report. However the total 2024–2025 Sovereign Grant stayed the same, coming in at £86.3 million (about $118 million).