Royal Mail will no longer transport the mail on its own trains it announced today, confirming that no replacements will be bought when the current rail fleet is taken out of service.
A part of UK history following the Great Train Robbery, which targeted a Royal Mail train from Glasgow to London in 1963, letters and parcels will in future be transported by chartered rail services, road and air
Royal Mail, which is owned by International Distributions Services PLC (LSE:IDS), also plans to halve its domestic flights to cut carbon emissions and improve efficiency, it said at the weekend.
Around 3% of mail is currently transported by rail, it said, and using the road will create more than 30 full-time driving jobs nationally.
Scrapping its trains marks a seeming U-turn in policy by IDS, which only two years ago unveiled plans by its then chief executive to treble rail use with a new huge parcel facility opened at the Daventry Rail Freight Terminal late last year.
A spokesperson said: “Royal Mail will continue to use rail services to transport mail across the country however our own freight trains are at the end of their operational lives.
“The trains are almost 30 years old and it is increasingly difficult to secure parts for maintenance and the routes we need to meet our service requirements.
“To improve reliability, increase cost-effectiveness and remain consistent with our environmental goals, over the coming months we will cease operating our own trains whilst continuing to use a mix of rail, road and air to transport mail to all corners of the UK.”
IDS recently agreed to a £3.5 billion takeover from Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky’s EP Group, but this is yet to be ratified by the new Labour government.
PA reported that Royal Mail had already given notice to DB Cargo UK, which operated and maintained Royal Mail’s fleet of Class 325 electric trains.
“Royal Mail has made it clear that its decision is purely down to the increasing costs of electric traction (EC4T) and the high investment needs of its ageing 325 fleet,” the news agency quoted from a letter to staff by DB Cargo UK’s boss.