Caledonian Sleeper

[WesternLancer]

Has it been delayed later than the 7th July date?
As I have booked a Club room on the 9th July if it is not the new stock will they still guarantee a room and will I still get access to the First Class lounge and Shower at Euston?

don't see why not

 

[Caleb2010]

They don't do "share with a stranger" any more, happily.
How much cheaper it will be: I don't know. One of the problems I get as a wheelchair user is it is often impossible to tell how much the cost will be, because it is often the only classic room left and so they stop advertising classic prices. Always a complete mystery

With the MK3 stock as a wheelchair user you would be able to purchase a seat and be upgraded to the accessible berth (as there are no wheelchair spaces in the seated area, and subject to the accessible berth being available!) So the cost of a journey could be as low as £33 with a disabled Railcard. There being only two or three tiers to the seated fares.

Now on the Mk5 stock, as there's a wheelchair space in the seated area the cheapest someone can get into the accessible berth is £92, ok it's a loophole about to be closed but it also represents a fare that's over 3 times higher than previous.

Plus, as you are booking a 'room' now instead of a seat, the likelihood of using a Railcard to bring the fare under the carnet fare reduces!
What happens when the classic rooms are sold and only club ones are left, but the classic accessible berth still available, will I have to pay the club price for the classic accessible room?

Even using my Railcard I frequently find fares of over £160, a massive increase.
I'm lucky that I can tailor my travel plans to the cheaper days or times but the new fares now put even the cheaper options out of my budget!

That said, the sleeper is still my preferred option to travel to London, mobility issues prevent me using day trains and driving plus hotel ½ way takes too long, yet is fast becoming the cheaper option.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

71 of 75 coaches now delivered (66 needed to operate a full service).

All 75 are now delivered - when Caledonian Sleeper said 71 of 75 in the UK ( on 28th April ) it was actually 68 as the other 7 were still on the ship, but they were all at Polmadie on the 30th April.

 

[kingqueen]

With the MK3 stock as a wheelchair user you would be able to purchase a seat and be upgraded to the accessible berth (as there are no wheelchair spaces in the seated area, and subject to the accessible berth being available!) So the cost of a journey could be as low as £33 with a disabled Railcard. There being only two or three tiers to the seated fares.

Well, that is useful to know. Wish I'd known that last week!! Wow. Does one simply ask to book the wheelchair space?

What happens when the classic rooms are sold and only club ones are left, but the classic accessible berth still available, will I have to pay the club price for the classic accessible room?

No. But their room booking system is so fundamentally not set up for booking the accessible room, that determining how much it will cost and achieving a booking is sadly non-trivial.

 

[Kendalian]

It never rains but it pours down on CS....reports of OHLE damage tonight near Wembley, looks like the Highlander is now 2 hours late and the Lowlander was 61 min late leaving Euston. Anyone any more info?

 

[Caleb2010]

Basically, if you've got a disabled Railcard you purchase a seat for the journey, then contact CS customer service and ask for the accessible berth!

I always see if the berth is available before booking!

CS then email you confirmation of Berth allocation, in my case on the INV portion it's J1. Usually next to the lounge car!

But it doesn't entitle you to first class services, even if you're in a first class carriage (and why should it!)

You have to show both the original ticket and the confirmation when you do the check in bit, Inverness crews aren't too bad but London crews are a bit anal, scrutinising every last millimetre in print.

As for booking the accessible room on the new stock, CS say that the way to book is the same, but instead of booking a seat, you book a classic berth, then get transferred.

 

[malc-c]

Anyone know whats happened to the 1S25 Euson to Inverness service tonight. I noticed it was on divert via the ECML and as I had to pick the wife up from Digswell around the same time it was due to pass thought I would take the video camera along to Welwyn North Station to record it. However according to RTT it's been stuck at Wembley running 122 minutes late http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/G65073/2019/06/02/advanced

Whilst I was typing

It never rains but it pours down on CS....reports of OHLE damage tonight near Wembley, looks like the Highlander is now 2 hours late and the Lowlander was 61 min late leaving Euston. Anyone any more info?

 

[Mathew S]

Anyone know whats happened to the 1S25 Euson to Inverness service tonight. I noticed it was on divert via the ECML and as I had to pick the wife up from Digswell around the same time it was due to pass thought I would take the video camera along to Welwyn North Station to record it. However according to RTT it's been stuck at Wembley running 122 minutes late http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/G65073/2019/06/02/advanced

Whilst I was typing

See this:

Well, that is useful to know. Wish I'd known that last week!! Wow. Does one simply ask to book the wheelchair space?No. But their room booking system is so fundamentally not set up for booking the accessible room, that determining how much it will cost and achieving a booking is sadly non-trivial.

 

[Kendalian]

CS are reporting OHLE problems on their twitter page. Perhaps it's a blessing in disguise that the Mk5's weren't launched tonight on the Highlander!

 

[Scotrail84]

1S26 looks like its in Kilburn loop.

 

[Glenn1969]

1S26 on RTT hasn't been updated for 40 minutes
Neither has 1S25 which RTT says is still stuck at Wembley

 

[MadCommuter]

Reports on twitter saying 66082 is shoving 1S25 out of the affected area.

 

[TimboM]

1S25 caught up in overhead wire issues on the Relief Lines into Wembley. 66082 is assisting to drag it to somewhere 90043 and/or 87002 can get back on the juice.

1S26 meanwhile has gone into Kilburn Loop - looks like the draw-back engine has been taken off (92014) however it's been there quite some time now. Might be waiting for its driver if they're caught up in the 1S25 shenanigans at Wembley.

UPDATE (23:55)
1S25 now on its way along the Up Relief coming out of Wembley.
0S26 (draw-back loco from 1S26) has also left Kilburn Loop and is heading towards Wembley.

 

[TimboM]

All 75 are now delivered - when Caledonian Sleeper said 71 of 75 in the UK ( on 28th April ) it was actually 68 as the other 7 were still on the ship, but they were all at Polmadie on the 30th April.

The 71 is based on the numbers of coaches delivered to Polmadie either from Tees Dock or the first five from Velim via Dollands Moor. Nothing to do with anything CS have said.
The remaining four I believe are to be delivered by road to Polmadie from the docks in due course and I think are: 15110, 15213, 15214 and 15337.

Deliveries (date of arrival at Polmadie):
5 on 15/01/2018 (ex Velim)
4 on 09/02/2018 + 4 on 12/02/2018 + 4 on 13/02/2018
4 on 09/04/2018
5 on 22/06/2018 + 5 on 26/06/2018
5 on 12/07/2018 + 4 on 13/07/2018
8 on 16/01/2019
8 on 01/03/2019
8 on 16/04/2019 + 7 on 01/05/2019 (from same shipment, docked mid-April)
= 71

[There'd been 64 delivered to Polmadie prior to the extra 7 which moved from Tees Dock on 1st May, although those 7 were already in the UK by late April, just still at the docks.]

 

[gavin]

The highlander has moved 165L late it'll make a bit of time up assuming they get a clear run up to Edinburgh but it'll most likely be a full compensation run

 

[malc-c]

1S25 caught up in overhead wire issues on the Relief Lines into Wembley. 66082 is assisting to drag it to somewhere 90043 and/or 87002 can get back on the juice.

Was it 1S25 that brought the wires down ?

 

[TimboM]

The highlander has moved 165L late it'll make a bit of time up assuming they get a clear run up to Edinburgh but it'll most likely be a full compensation run

It's 190L now - needed to take the 66 (and probably 87 off). 100% Delay Repay a certainty I'd say, funded by Network Rail...

Was it 1S25 that brought the wires down ?

Not 100% sure, but don't think so.

 

[gordonjahn]

It doesn’t matter what the connector is carrying if you chose the wrong connector as has happened here. This is already subject to an NIR and likely a campaign change.

Are these the E015 connector in here: https://www.rssb.co.uk/rgs/reldocs/sd001 iss 2.pdf ?

If so, it looks like these have been around a while and with signal references to Nightstock, the connector was maybe designed for the Nightstar services - have they maybe been on the 92s since, well, 1992? There are only 5 pins showing as "spare" on both loco and train sides, so how you'd replace all these signals or multiplex them to use a smaller connector, without compromising any safety assumptions in using hard-wired control circuits, isn't immediately obvious.

 

[Highlandspring]

Are these the E015 connector in here: https://www.rssb.co.uk/rgs/reldocs/sd001 iss 2.pdf ?

No the CS mk5 stock uses a HAN HMC industrial type connector -
https://b2b.harting.com/ebusiness/e...s-Hansup-sup-Hoods-Housings/13993?search=true

 

[gordonjahn]

No the CS mk5 stock uses a HAN HMC industrial type connector -
https://b2b.harting.com/ebusiness/e...s-Hansup-sup-Hoods-Housings/13993?search=true

Thanks!

 

[ashkeba]

It's 190L now - needed to take the 66 (and probably 87 off). 100% Delay Repay a certainty I'd say, funded by Network Rail...

90L at Edinburgh, finished 115L at Inverness, 60L at Aberdeen and 76L at Fort William. Lowlander 54L at Carstairs, 62L at Glasgow.

 

[TimboM]

90L at Edinburgh, finished 115L at Inverness, 60L at Aberdeen and 76L at Fort William. Lowlander 54L at Carstairs, 62L at Glasgow.

Aberdeen and Glasgow Central arrivals both 58L in terms of the public timetable ("GBTT") as opposed to the internal Working TimeTable WTT, so those passengers will have just missed out on 100% Delay Repay I believe.

 

[Highlandspring]

I’ve been trying to speak to CS today to get an update on a delay repay claim I submitted a fortnight ago and for which I still haven’t heard anything other than the automated email with the case number. So far I’ve phoned 5 times and have been on hold for up to 10 minutes at a time with no one answering....

 

[JModulo]

I’ve been trying to speak to CS today to get an update on a delay repay claim I submitted a fortnight ago and for which I still haven’t heard anything other than the automated email with the case number. So far I’ve phoned 5 times and have been on hold for up to 10 minutes at a time with no one answering....

Sounds about right...

 

[Richard P]

Have to say albeit looking in from the outside the CS Twitter feed is pretty poor. Last night they managed 2 tweets each regarding the Highlander and Lowlander service delays then nothing. Whenever there are delays (which seems pretty often) if feels like as soon as the trains have left Euston then they shut up shop for the night and cease contact with the outside World. Can't be much fun onboard either, last night there were multiple tweets asking what is happening and not one response - do the crew not communicate with the passengers either?!

 

[Clayton]

Looking at this thread, the whole thing seems like a total mess! Flying appeals far more.

 

[ashkeba]

Looking at this thread, the whole thing seems like a total mess! Flying appeals far more.

Flying doesn't give you a bed for the night or the fantastic scenery. I expect it'll settle down.

As for some not getting 100% delay repay... at least it means CS rescued some pretty horrendous delays to within an hour of published arrival times. Bit odd they wouldn't pay at least one worker to answer the social media overnight during such disruption, though.

 

[47271]

I've heard of them still supporting individual disruption cases by phone (people in taxis for example) until 2am, so it does seem odd that they're not responding to tweets much earlier in the night. I don't know for sure, but it looks like their customer service team is slammed at the moment and maybe just have to draw the line somewhere? I'm not excusing it, but this might be an explanation.

As for it being a mess, yes it is, but there are probably more TOCs in a mess over new or refurbed stock than are running smoothly just now. Every tiny problem (and right now some very big ones as well) experienced by the sleeper is pored over in detail by this forum, so we need to have a sense of perspective.

Few TOCs charge the fares asked by the sleeper of course...

 

[MrEd]

Can't be much fun onboard either, last night there were multiple tweets asking what is happening and not one response - do the crew not communicate with the passengers either?!

This is quite a difficult one for the crew, as they suppose (whether rightly or wrongly) that passengers may be asleep late at night and in the early hours and are probably afraid of waking passengers unnecessarily. They perhaps take the view that passengers who are worried about the delay will press the blue button in their berth to call them, and that otherwise, the passengers will be happy simply to be advised of the ETA and extent of the delay when they get their morning tea/breakfast. This probably explains why there is no public address system on the Mk3 sets (although I'm told Mk5s do have this?) so no announcements. That said, many infrequent travellers are not certain as to where to go to find staff, or how to call the host; clearer information on check-in would certainly help in this regard. Ideally, the on-train staff are much better placed to help the passengers once they're actually on board than anyone manning the Twitter feed. Under the old, more personal check-in system (which I miss), the host assigned to your carriage would ask you whether you wanted to be informed of any delays during the journey (certainly the Inverness crews all did this), which I suspect some passengers found useful. I'm sure I'm not alone in finding the current check-in system very perfunctory (I'm sure first-time travellers must find this particularly so), and that this gives travellers unfamiliar with the sleeper the impression that there are no or few staff to help them.

 

[MrEd]

Just out of interest, does anyone on here know what the rationale was for introducing the new check-in system early in 2018? Unfortunately, I feel that CS might have ended up trying to fix something that wasn't actually broken; I often overhear crews saying it creates more unnecessary work (particularly with the breakfast order cards which they now have to collect). I also feel that passengers seemed to like the experience of having their own 'personal' carriage host.