Caledonian Sleeper as normal service

YorkshireBear · 23 Sep 2015

Hi guys, assistance please.

I wish to catch the train from Spean Bridge into Fort William for the Jacobite, then back out on the sleeper in the evening after food in fort william.

In seated can i treat the sleeper as a normal service or do i have to have reservations and book?

Just no other service gets into Fort William in time!!!

Cheers for the help in advance.

RailUK Forums

NSEFAN · 23 Sep 2015

The fort William sleeper may be used in the seated carriage as a normal passenger train between Edinburgh and fort William.

greatkingrat · 23 Sep 2015

Officially you must have a reservation, however if you are only going from Spean Bridge I imagine that would be unlikely to be enforced.

Romilly · 23 Sep 2015

The following is from the website of the Friends of the West Highland Lines:

Friends of the West Highland Lines would like to clarify current ticketing arrangements for the seated section of the Fort William-London Euston Caledonian Sleeper.

[....] As previously under ScotRail, passengers can continue to use it as an ordinary day service anywhere along the West Highland section. Ordinary valid tickets, whether purchased from a ScotRail ticket office or their website, will still be accepted and the on-train guard can also sell tickets to those boarding at stations without ticket issuing facilities. While reservations are encouraged, those without are still accepted space permitting.

[....] any passengers wishing to make reservations on the train between Edinburgh Waverley and Fort William can do so at either of these two stations' ticket offices or online courtesy of First Great Western, who are one of the few train operating companies currently making this available (www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk).

34D · 23 Sep 2015

greatkingrat said:
Officially you must have a reservation, however if you are only going from Spean Bridge I imagine that would be unlikely to be enforced.

Is one allowed to stand in the vestibule?

ainsworth74 · 23 Sep 2015

34D said:
Is one allowed to stand in the vestibule?

Yes but you should still technically have a reservation though I doubt any guards will care if you don't though I guess they would be able to refuse travel if every seat was taken (but again that seems highly unlikely given the remoteness of most of the stations in that part of the world).

Actually guards on that line don't seem to mind people hanging out the vestibule windows on that train. A group of forum members did the service over the summer and spent a great deal of the journey at the windows. Indeed the guard locked their own door in middle the brake when a young passenger (not a part of our group) was leaning out of it as that door I do not believe is part of the central locking. But the guard was quite happy for the passenger to continue once the door was secured!

Starmill · 24 Sep 2015

The trains are marked in the timetable with a black R in a white box for their entire journeys, which means Reservations Compulsory.

Despite this, for short journeys you would be allowed on until no space remains pretty much no matter what, just like all other trains.

Hadders · 25 Sep 2015

I am advised that Caledonian Sleeper have no issue with people using the Fort William to Edinburgh and Kingussie to Inverness trains sections on a walk on basis without reservations. However I am further advised that there are only 31 seats available and that it is a long way to stand if all these are taken.

Caledonian Sleeper as normal service

YorkshireBear

Established Member

RailUK Forums

NSEFAN

Established Member

greatkingrat

Established Member

Romilly

Established Member

34D

Established Member

ainsworth74

Forum Staff

Starmill

Veteran Member

Hadders

Veteran Member