Network Rail bosses spend £10,000 a week on flights as it’s cheaper than trains
Bosses at Network Rail spent £10,000 a week on plane tickets last year because flying worked out cheaper than trains, it is reported.
More than a third of all flight costs expensed by staff at the country's lead rail and station owners were for domestic journeys which could have easily been made by train, Freedom of Information data has revealed.
Figures showed staff bought 985 plane tickets for flights within the UK, and a further 1,622 on international journeys.
Some 72 of the internal flights taken by Network Rail staff were between Birmingham and Glasgow - a trip serviced by a direct line, train fares for which cost as much as £206 for a one-way ticket.
One director, Michelle Handforth, expensed £8,000 worth in domestic flight fees despite earning a generous salary of £330,000.
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Rail fares saw the biggest hike in a decade back in March, increasing by 5.9%. figures obtained by a freedom of information request by the Sun newspaper show.
Inflation figures from the same month showed ticket prices are almost five times more expensive now as they were in 1987.
Network Rail has meanwhile admitted staff often fly for business trips as it works out cheaper than getting the train.
The company continues to promote train travel in order for people to cut down on their carbon emissions.
Mike Childs, from Friends of the Earth, said it was no secret trains were far more environmentally-friendly and said the figures were a "sorry indictment" of the state of the country's rail services.
The news will come as no comfort to rail staff up and down the country, who staged their latest mass walkout on Saturday in ongoing dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.
RMT members went on strike on what was deemed one of the busiest days for travel of the year. It coincided with Aslef members who were continuing to stage 'work to rule' action, meaning some parts of the country were left with no running services.
Dozens of ticket offices at stations across the country are also set to close as rail companies look to cut costs, leaving many frustrated and angry.
Commenting on the flight cost figures, a Network Rail spokesperson said: “We are competing for top people in a tough global market.
“As a public body, with understandable restrictions on salary and rewards compared to the private sector, we have to be innovative and flexible in order to secure the services of great people from across the internationally competitive market, as we have done here.
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“We always encourage our people to travel by rail, but flying is permitted where elements like time constraints are considered. Overall, some 94 per cent of our business travel is by rail.”
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