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Caledonian Sleeper

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_toommm_

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8 Jul 2017
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Yorkshire
Is there not an option to attach a 67 or 66 to the coaches, or do CS not have one lying around?
 

TimboM

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12 Apr 2016
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Current best estimate is boarding at 2330 but I can see the stock still hasn’t left Wembley...
Looks like it's just appearing out of Wembley Carriage Sheds.
Doubt you'll be boarding much before 00:15.
 

TimboM

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12 Apr 2016
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Is there not an option to attach a 67 or 66 to the coaches, or do CS not have one lying around?
Just need something to haul the train to where the wires are OK - one of the resident Wembley 08s will do.
CS don't have any locos at all.
 
Joined
7 Aug 2011
Messages
245
Not having to trot down the corridor for a wee at 3am has got to be worth £20 more.

For a weekly commuter £20 per journey adds up to £160 per month. That's significant for me, if not for everyone. I'd take the £160 and put up with the walk (although I believe there are those that argue the old stock is fitted with en-suite facilities o_O).
 
Last edited:

urpert

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1 Dec 2015
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1,164
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Essendine or between Étaples and Rang-du-Fliers
We finally got away about 01:15. Annoyingly made up most of the time en route so no Delay Repay.

First impressions while I think of it:

-comfortable beds and decent pillows
-lots of minor teething problems with the stock (toilet doors not locking properly, sinks leaking on the floor)
-lack of attention to detail (one guy with a clipboard on the platform checking in all the Edinburgh passengers, many of whom had been moved/downgraded due to faulty bathrooms, the connecting door in our cabin wasn’t locked)
-ride on the Mk5s is unconvincing: we were probably over a bogie but the noise and movement at places like Preston and Crewe would wake anyone up

In short, it doesn’t feel like a premium service at the moment. It would help if they could come to an arrangement with Virgin to keep the Euston lounge open later while delays seem to be a daily thing.
 

Bletchleyite

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20 Oct 2014
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97,521
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"Marston Vale mafia"
the connecting door in our cabin wasn’t locked

That you even need to is a terrible piece of design. Hotel connecting doors tend to have two doors, one for each room, so it requires both people to open theirs for the rooms to be connected, and no need to ask permission. There might not be room for that, but it wouldn't be rocket science to have two separate locks on the same door to achieve the same thing.
 

Kendalian

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Joined
30 Mar 2016
Messages
249
We finally got away about 01:15. Annoyingly made up most of the time en route so no Delay Repay.

First impressions while I think of it:

-comfortable beds and decent pillows
-lots of minor teething problems with the stock (toilet doors not locking properly, sinks leaking on the floor)
-lack of attention to detail (one guy with a clipboard on the platform checking in all the Edinburgh passengers, many of whom had been moved/downgraded due to faulty bathrooms, the connecting door in our cabin wasn’t locked)
-ride on the Mk5s is unconvincing: we were probably over a bogie but the noise and movement at places like Preston and Crewe would wake anyone up

In short, it doesn’t feel like a premium service at the moment. It would help if they could come to an arrangement with Virgin to keep the Euston lounge open later while delays seem to be a daily thing.

Totally agree. If boarding is going to be delayed beyond the normal lounge closing time (2300?) then arrangements must be made to keep it open for all guests until boarding commences.
To turf guests out to stand on the concourse for an unspecified length of time just isn’t good enough for the upmarket product CS are selling (and charging for). If it’s bad now wait till mid winter stood on the concourse at midnight!
 

Highlandspring

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14 Oct 2017
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2,778
Again I would say that CS need to be looking at developing their own dedicated lounge at Euston and not relying on the cheap solution previous operators used.
 

Mainliner

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Joined
1 Nov 2010
Messages
255
Location
North Tyneside
We finally got away about 01:15. Annoyingly made up most of the time en route so no Delay Repay.

First impressions while I think of it:

-comfortable beds and decent pillows
-lots of minor teething problems with the stock (toilet doors not locking properly, sinks leaking on the floor)
-lack of attention to detail (one guy with a clipboard on the platform checking in all the Edinburgh passengers, many of whom had been moved/downgraded due to faulty bathrooms, the connecting door in our cabin wasn’t locked)
-ride on the Mk5s is unconvincing: we were probably over a bogie but the noise and movement at places like Preston and Crewe would wake anyone up

In short, it doesn’t feel like a premium service at the moment. It would help if they could come to an arrangement with Virgin to keep the Euston lounge open later while delays seem to be a daily thing.

Appalling lack of customer care, and incredible that there are still faulty bathrooms despite all the work being done between services. As I said in a previous post, unless radical action is taken to preserve goodwill, there soon won’t be a viable customer base. A colleague was going to try the new service after I told her about it, as she knows I used and appreciated the old service, but I’ll be telling her not even to think about it until all this is resolved, if it ever is. And the bad Tripadvisor reports, important to overseas customers who otherwise wouldn’t know any better, will pile up and put off that vital segment.

This latest report doesn’t seem to indicate that any action is being taken, never mind radical action. I’m not of course referring to beleaguered front line staff - does management just not care? I’m not surprised to hear about strike threats. If management are overwhelmed by the problems, new people are needed to get a customer-focused grip on the situation.

I don’t know whether Serco will get compensation for the late arrival of the stock due to the OHLE issue, but if they do, and if they don’t pass it on to all passengers just because they made up the time, it would be nothing short of cynical and demonstrate a complete lack of consideration.
 

Steve Harris

Member
Joined
11 Dec 2016
Messages
891
Location
ECML
We finally got away about 01:15. Annoyingly made up most of the time en route so no Delay Repay.

First impressions while I think of it:

-comfortable beds and decent pillows
-lots of minor teething problems with the stock (toilet doors not locking properly, sinks leaking on the floor)
-lack of attention to detail (one guy with a clipboard on the platform checking in all the Edinburgh passengers, many of whom had been moved/downgraded due to faulty bathrooms, the connecting door in our cabin wasn’t locked)
-ride on the Mk5s is unconvincing: we were probably over a bogie but the noise and movement at places like Preston and Crewe would wake anyone up

In short, it doesn’t feel like a premium service at the moment. It would help if they could come to an arrangement with Virgin to keep the Euston lounge open later while delays seem to be a daily thing.
I presume you can't tell if the train was travelling faster last night (to make up time) than normal?

If they are doing that and the Mk5's ride is worse than a Mk3 I can see CS loosing even more customers.
 

trebor79

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8 Mar 2018
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4,435
They seem to run faster as a matter if course. When I travelled we were 40 minutes early at Euston despite a 30 minute delay at Carstairs.
It really doesn't help the ride and I made the point in both surveys I was asked to fill in that an on time arrival with less disrupted sleep is more important to me than arriving early. I really don't know why they don't just tell the driver to keep to time rather than continually run faster than is necessary, it can't be that difficult surely?
 

Essexman

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15 Mar 2011
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1,380
They seem to run faster as a matter if course. When I travelled we were 40 minutes early at Euston despite a 30 minute delay at Carstairs.
It really doesn't help the ride and I made the point in both surveys I was asked to fill in that an on time arrival with less disrupted sleep is more important to me than arriving early. I really don't know why they don't just tell the driver to keep to time rather than continually run faster than is necessary, it can't be that difficult surely?

I agree, I'd rather have a smoother ride and arrive later.
 

Mag_seven

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1 Sep 2014
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here to eternity
They seem to run faster as a matter if course. When I travelled we were 40 minutes early at Euston despite a 30 minute delay at Carstairs.
It really doesn't help the ride and I made the point in both surveys I was asked to fill in that an on time arrival with less disrupted sleep is more important to me than arriving early. I really don't know why they don't just tell the driver to keep to time rather than continually run faster than is necessary, it can't be that difficult surely?

The reason why the Up Lowlander frequently arrives early is because it has loads of recovery time. If the driver was to slow down to below the timed speed of 80mph max it could potentially delay other services.
 

Fleetwood Boy

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11 Oct 2017
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189
The reason why the Up Lowlander frequently arrives early is because it has loads of recovery time. If the driver was to slow down to below the timed speed of 80mph max it could potentially delay other services.
Surely that depends where the recovery time is within the schedule? If it’s distributed across the whole schedule then running early at, say, Milton Keynes could actually cause disruption to other services?

I haven’t used the new service but my two pet hates on the old beds were arriving early (what was there to do in London at 0700?) and the stewards forcing you to agree to breakfast earlier than I wanted (in part because they knew arrival was likely to be well ahead of schedule and they don’t want people lingering on the train after it’s arrived).
 

Scotrail84

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5 Jul 2010
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2,360
The reason why the Up Lowlander frequently arrives early is because it has loads of recovery time. If the driver was to slow down to below the timed speed of 80mph max it could potentially delay other services.

That train can run at 80mph all the way to London and still be 40 early. Its the slack timings that allow it.
 

trebor79

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8 Mar 2018
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4,435
The reason why the Up Lowlander frequently arrives early is because it has loads of recovery time. If the driver was to slow down to below the timed speed of 80mph max it could potentially delay other services.
How could sticking to its planned timings cause disruption to other services??
 

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