Network Rail bosses "let the plane take the strain"

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From The Mirror

Network Rail bosses spend taxpayers' cash on UK^▸ (United Kingdom) flights instead of taking the train

The number of internal UK flights taken by Network Rail star soared by almost 10 per cent last year - rather than using their own train networks

Network Rail is letting the plane take the strain, with the number of internal UK flights taken by its staff soaring almost 10 per cent.

The firm, responsible for the upkeep of railway lines and stations, made 4,876 flight bookings last year – almost 100 a week.

[ellendune]

Is that because NR^» (Network Rail - home page) staff need to pay the same ticket prices as the rest of us when they travel on business?  In the days of BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) we just used a pass or a free ticket.  I remember travelling from Derby to York and back on an 'All Stations BRB^▸ (British Railways Board, or 'be right back', depending on context)' pass when I worked for BR.

[TaplowGreen]

Is that because NR^» (Network Rail - home page) staff need to pay the same ticket prices as the rest of us when they travel on business?  In the days of BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) we just used a pass or a free ticket.  I remember travelling from Derby to York and back on an 'All Stations BRB^▸ (British Railways Board, or 'be right back', depending on context)' pass when I worked for BR.

I suspect in many cases taking a flight was cheaper, much quicker, more reliable and a more efficient use of time and doing business.

British Airways staff catch trains too I expect, and Highways Agency staff have been known to go by ferry.

[eightonedee]

.....and, of course, we have failed to build a high-speed rail network like the French and the Spanish!

There's more anti-HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) coverage in the press this weekend, but no mention of the carbon (and other pollutant) savings.

[rower40]

It's not just the transport industry.
I bet some Mirror journalists read other papers too.

[Electric train]

Part of it is to do with business pressure, like any business time is money often the pressure is to not have 3 days out of the office with perhaps 2 nights in a hotel for a 1 day meeting.

Network Rail is constantly being pressed by the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) to reduce costs, and unfortunately rail travel appears in the accounts as the public fare despite the fact that NR^» (Network Rail - home page) gets the track access bit back.

Some TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) provide NR with Duty Passes (at a small cost of a few hundred pounds per pass per year) GTR and Southeastern  are 2 I know who provide such passes