After almost 200 years, Royal Mail will no longer use its trains to transport mail.
The company confirmed that it would decommission the remaining freight trains before 10 October. It also plans to increase its amount of mail it transports by road.
This move is made as Royal Mail parent company International Distributions Services has been the subject of a £3.6bn bid by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky .
Royal Mail started running trains for transport posts in 1830. The service reached its peak during the Second World War, when there were more than 130 trains on the network. The service now operates six trains, all of which are over 30 years old.
Royal Mail’s spokesperson stated that it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain parts for maintenance. After reviewing plans to purchase new trains, the decision was made to use other commercial rail services, and increase road deliveries.
The statement read: “To increase reliability, cost-effectiveness and remain consistent with the environmental goals we have set, in the coming months, we will stop operating our trains and continue to use a mixture of rail, air and road to transport the mail to all parts of the UK.”
DB Cargo which operates these services said that Royal Mail had reversed its decision. Royal Mail had committed previously to increasing its rail freight use to achieve its goal of net zero by the year 2040. The Telegraph reported in 2022 that the Telegraph had plans to triple the postal volume transported by rail, and reduce the number of road deliveries.
Andrea Rossi is the chief executive officer of DB Cargo UK. He said he was “profoundly” disappointed by the decision to axe the trains. The Daily Mail reported the news first. Rossi suggested that it could lead to an additional 10,000 HGVs on “our already congested” roads.
It is estimated that 3% of the company’s mail is transported via rail. The additional driving work would result in more than 30 jobs at full time. The company has 5,000 vans that run on electric power, and many of its heavy-duty vehicles are powered by biodiesel.
The changes follow Royal Mail’s announcement that it would reduce the number of chartered flights used to transport post around the UK to 18 per day. They are part of Martin Seidenberg’s plan to implement the “biggest network change in twenty years” and revamp Royal Mail deliveries.
The company said that it would continue with the shake-up, despite the ongoing bid from Kretinsky’s company EP Group. The offer includes a number contractual commitments and undertakings. One of these is the delivery six days a weeks.
Royal Mail has played a major role in British culture for many decades.
The famous poem Night Mail, written by WH Auden in 1936, was accompanied by a documentary that followed the journey of a train dropping off letters between London Euston and Aberdeen.
The Great Train Robbery was committed in 1963 when thieves stole more than £2.6m (the equivalent of £69m) from a Royal Mail train travelling between Glasgow and London.
Post Disclaimer