 Mail trains are to be replaced by lorries and planes |
The Royal Mail is to stop transporting post by rail in a move which will cut costs and end 170 years of history. The company said its 49 mail trains will begin to be cancelled from next month and stopped altogether from next March.
Royal Mail said the rail network had simply proved too expensive and unreliable, and in future all post would be distributed by road and air.
The Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said the move threatened 500 jobs, including an undisclosed number of posts at a dedicated depot in Plymouth.
 Other forms of transport can give us the same benefits, in terms of flexibility and quality, but at a lower cost  |
The decision follows the failure of two years of negotiations between the Royal Mail and freight carrier English Welsh & Scottish Railways (EWS).
EWS said it was "shocked" at the announcement and said it would continue to try to persuade Royal Mail to use the railways.
It said the change would add 160,000 lorry journeys a year to the UK's roads.
About 14% of the country's daily postbag of 82 million items is transported by rail - a total of more than 10 million items.
Royal Mail's logistics managing director Paul Bateson said: "There is a marked difference between the price we believe we should be paying for rail services and that which was on the table.
This move threatens 500 jobs, it threatens the environment, it threatens the whole idea of next-day postal deliveries and it threatens to cost the taxpayer a fortune |
"Quite simply, other forms of transport can give us the same benefits, in terms of flexibility and quality, but at a lower cost. "We are disappointed that, after two years of discussions with EWS, we have been unable to make any headway. But we cannot negotiate any longer."
Allen Johnson, chief operating officer of EWS, said: "We are shocked that Royal Mail is threatening to walk away from the railway.
"EWS has made numerous competitive price offers in response to changing specifications from Royal Mail."
 Mail trains have been used for 170 years |
Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT, said Royal Mail's decision was a "scandal". "This move threatens 500 jobs, it threatens the environment, it threatens the whole idea of next-day postal deliveries and it threatens to cost the taxpayer a fortune.
"This is a cost-cutting step too far and if the government has any self-respect left they will step in to stop it."
BBC transport correspondent Tom Symonds said: "This decision will be a major dent in the government's policy to increase rail freight by 80% this decade."
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