Stay updated with breaking news from Michelle Handforth. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
RICHARD LITTLEJOHN My Mum's Uncle Joe was the station master at King's Cross, the nearest thing to royalty in our family.
Network Rail boss Michelle Handforth (pictured), who lives in Aberdeen, claimed almost £10k in the last financial year for 72 flights to stations across the UK, rather than take the train.
Figures slipped out by the government showed a total of 664 officials were over the threshold as of September - up 6.6 per cent from the 623 in 2021.
Last year more than 2,600 air tickets were bought by staff at Network Rail, which operates 20,000 miles of train track across Britain. 985 tickets were for flights within Britain and 1,622 for trips abroad.
Despite urging Brits to take the train to keep down carbon emissions, Network Rail staff spent thousands on domestic flights last year - admitting it was because planes sometimes worked out cheaper