Her Majesty is a fan of train travel, it seems.
Plenty of people take Britain’s Great Northern train service—a major route that links London to several northern suburbs—in their daily commute. But this week, The Queen herself joined the fray, returning to the city after spending the holidays in Sandringham.
On Monday, February 8, she boarded the 10:54 a.m. train at Kings Lynn, escorted by the station’s manager, and rode first class on the two-hour trip to Kings Cross, a ticket that costs around $80 each way. “It's an honor to have her use the train service,” station manager Graeme Pratt told the Eastern Daily Press. “I asked her if she enjoyed her stay in Norfolk, to which she said she did,” he said.
Fellow riders may have been taken aback if they spotted the VIP traveler, who generally resides in Buckingham Palace when she’s in London, but they shouldn’t have been. According to the Telegraph, she’s accustomed to taking the train back from her annual Christmas break, and in 1991, she traveled from London to Edinburgh on the inaugural voyage of British Rail’s new 225 train, joking with fellow passengers along the way.
Last fall, when she became Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, she even marked the milestone by boarding a steam train in Edinburgh to open the Scottish Borders Railway. If you, too, like to travel by locomotive, then we’ve got some ideas for your next trip.
