British railway term for a passenger service operated just often enough, usually once a week in one direction, to avoid the formal legal process of closing a route or station. The practice stems from historic legislation requiring affordable daily travel, but operators use it strictly as a regulatory loophole. Running a single empty train costs far less than the public hearings and legal battles required to officially abandon the track.
Heard on the job
We run the parliamentary train through the old junction at six on Saturday mornings just to maintain the legal route status.
Insider tip
Crews usually refer to these as ghost trains, as they are intentionally scheduled at inconvenient times to discourage actual ridership.
Also heard as
- ghost train
- parly