Network Rail is letting the plane take the strain, with the number of internal UK flights taken by its staff soaring almost 10 per cent.
The firm, responsible for the upkeep of railway lines and stations, made 4,876 flight bookings last year – almost 100 a week.
And more than a quarter of those were between Birmingham and Glasgow, which are less than 300 miles apart.
A train ticket for the four-hour journey can be booked for as little as £41.
Network Rail claims to “actively discourage” staff from flying within Britain.
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Yet its total bill for internal flights rose last year from £547,000 to £571,000 – while spending on international flights reached £427,000.
In total Network Rail spent almost £1million on flights – as climate change campaigners urge people to switch to rail.
In its annual report, the state-owned firm says it wants staff who “care for the environment”, adding it is hitting targets to reduce carbon emissions.
It says: “We will have reduced our energy consumption by 18 per cent. We will also focus on enhancing biodiversity on [our] land.”
Network Rail’s own guide on expenses says staff can catch a sleeper train if the journey is more than three hours long.
It says staff should use trains if possible and consider video-conferencing instead.
Train drivers’ union ASLEF said: “It’s regrettable and surprising they have taken so many trips on planes.
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“Our members are travelling to our conference in Leeds this weekend – they’ll be using the train.
“It’s less expensive, more effective, and more environmentally sound.”
Oliver Hayes, of Friends of the Earth, said: “It looks like Network Rail haven’t received the climate emergency memo.
“It’s a damning indictment of the network they should be championing.”
Network Rail told us: “Our staff make over 10,000 rail journeys every week. Flights are unavoidable but are actively discouraged in favour of rail.”
