Aberdeen-based Paddington rail station boss who earns £300,000 claims £10,000 a year on expenses to FLY to different UK stations rather than take the train

The £300,000-a-year Scotland-based London Paddington train station boss flies hundreds of miles to other UK stations instead of taking the train, according to a report.

Michelle Handforth, who lives in Aberdeen, claimed almost £10,000 in the last financial year for 72 flights to stations across the country.

Handforth, 60, who works for National Rail, is also in charge of other works in Reading, Bristol and across Wales.

She used to work as head of Aberdeen Port Board before being hired as chief executive of Network Rail in July 2021.

Your contract says you are allowed to work from home and that your employer pays travel and accommodation expenses “when necessary.” Sun reports.

Network Rail offered the deal to Ms Handforth because it says they need to be “innovative and flexible” to be able to recruit the best people.

But in its latest annual report, published recently, the quango acknowledged that passenger satisfaction targets had not been met in its boss’ area, with low scores due to failings in overcrowding, cleanliness and the station environment. .

The flights he took last year included two £536 return trips from Aberdeen to Bristol via airline Loganair.

Network Rail spent a total of £188,006 on domestic flights last year and £315,026 on international flights, according to The Sun.

Jonathan Gullis, Conservative MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, slammed Network Rail, saying it was an “embarrassing situation” that rail bosses had to fly to visit their own stations.

He also criticized Mrs Handforth’s “exorbitant salary”, considering trains are often late and poor value for money.