Public sector employees responsible for transporting nuclear waste have reportedly engaged in a long-running scheme to travel on trains without paying fares by using falsified documentation, according to internal disclosures.
The employees in question work for Nuclear Transport Solutions (NTS) and its subsidiary, Direct Rail Services (DRS), which operates freight trains carrying nuclear materials across the United Kingdom. Under current regulations, freight drivers may travel free of charge on passenger trains if they are en route to collect a goods train, provided they carry proper documentary evidence known as Freight Travel Duty Passes. However, journeys undertaken for other purposes require payment, with reasonable travel expenses reimbursed by NTS.
Investigations reveal that some of the approximately 160 drivers employed by DRS were provided with fabricated duty rosters—referred to as diagrams in the rail industry—indicating they were travelling to pick up trains even when they were not. This practice enabled them to make unauthorized free journeys, potentially defrauding public funds over a period dating back to 1996.
Whistleblowers have characterized the scheme as widespread and reportedly sanctioned by a number of managers. Documentation includes admissions from an NTS manager who acknowledged creating false duty rosters upon drivers’ requests to list them as "on duty" for travel to non-collection work meetings. Officials say the practice had persisted for nearly three decades, possibly resulting in losses amounting to millions of pounds borne by taxpayers.
Revenue from passenger ticket sales is remitted to the government, which then allocates portions to train operating companies to offset operational costs. Any shortfalls in this revenue are supplemented by public subsidy, which amounted to £12 billion in the previous year.
Following the revelations, Richard Holden, the shadow transport secretary, called for a police investigation, emphasizing the severity of what appears to be systemic and long-standing fraud. Holden urged Nuclear Transport Solutions to recover the missing fares in full and held train companies accountable for potential financial losses.
Sources within the Department for Transport expressed strong disapproval upon learning of the allegations. The issue reportedly came to light after a DRS driver was found travelling without a valid ticket or proper duty diagram during an inspection by London North Eastern Railway staff. A disciplinary inquiry into the driver and a related line manager has since been initiated.
In response, a spokesman for DRS stated that the company treats such allegations seriously and is actively investigating the matter. Employees have been reminded of the rules governing the use of Freight Duty Cards pending the outcome of the inquiry.
A representative from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero echoed this stance, affirming the government’s commitment to addressing even a single potential case of fraud and supporting DRS’s investigation efforts.