British rail companies have spent more than £13 million on taxi fares for their employees since January 2025 . These costs, funded by the Department for Transport and passenger fares, were triggered by widespread rail disruptions and operational failures.
South Western Railway's £4.9 million taxi bill
Of the total expenditure, South Western Railway emerged as the heaviest spender, allocating over £4.9 million to staff transportation. According to the report, this figure includes £147,439 specifically for delay charges, resulting from taxi drivers waiting for a combined total of more than 5,700 hours.
The inefficiency of these arrangements is highlighted by a specific incident in June 2025. A four-mile journey that typically costs £30.54 ended up costing significantly more after a taxi waited for 4 hours and 48 minutes, adding £135.36 in late fees to the final bill.
From £1,424 fares to a 368-mile shuttle
The data reveals extreme outliers in spending and distance. Greater Anglia recorded the most expensive single trip in January 2025, which cost £1,424.28, followed by another high-cost journey in April 2026 totaling £1,343.76. Meanwhile, TransPennine Express booked the longest single journey in February 2025, a 368-mile trip used to move personnel between Glasgow and Lockerbie.
Operational chaos extended beyond just the cost of the fares. A taxi booked by c2c Railway Limited at 3 .45am took 10 hours to reach its destination due to roadworks near East Ham, not finishing the trip until 2pm the following afternoon. As the report says, approximately 39 per cent of all such bookings occurred during unsociable hours between 11pm and 5am.
The "Polar Express" and the cost of cold ScotRail carriages
Some expenditures were driven by the poor condition of the rail infrastructure itself . A member of the Caledonian Sleeper staff was provided a taxi because an alternative ScotRail service was deemed too cold to use. This echoes a broader trend of passenger dissatisfaction with the West Highland line, where below-zero winter temperatures have led some to nickname the ScotRail service the "polar express."
This reliance on road transport to bypass failing rail environments suggests a systemic issue where operators prioritize staff comfort over the reliability of the trains they are paid to run. While South Western Railway argues that taxis are an "operational necessity" for moving workers quickly,the use of cabs to avoid freezing trains points to a deeper failure in fleet maintenance.
£73,000 salaries and the 137% ticket price surge
The spending on staff taxis comes at a time of significant financial pressure on the public. Since 2004, the cost of a single anytime rail ticket has climbed by 137 per cent. This price hike contrasts sharply with the operational waste described in the data, especially as train drivers remain among the UK's highest earners with an average annual salary of £73,000.
Several critical questions remain unanswered. While the Department for Transport claims these costs are a "tiny fraction" of the total railway budget, they have not provided the specific total figure to justify that claim. Furthermore, it remains unclear who authorized the four-figure taxi fares booked by Greater Anglia or why TransPennine Express deemed a 368-mile taxi ride a necessary operational expense rather than utilizing existing rail networks. Aslef, the primary union for drivers, declined to comment on the taxi spending, stating that such choices are the responsibility of the operators.
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