IT is heartening to see that Prince Philip and Princess Margaret are using their OAP rail passes - helping to cut the cost of the monarchy.
However, this does not mean the end of the Royal train -one of the most expensive items listed in a report on Royal travel expenses.
If you have a Royal family you have to pay for it. No one expects the Queen to hop on a tube train, but do we need a Royal train, with all its expensive trappings, in this day and age?
What would be wrong with attaching a couple of special coaches to normal inter-city services? No doubt the retinue would have to be trimmed. But that would also save cash.
Most Royal trips these days are by aeroplane, helicopter or car. Surely it is time to shunt the Royal train into the sidings for the last time.
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