Caledonian Sleeper

Bletchleyite · 12 Jun 2019

LeylandLen said:
Id like to know who would have the authority to make an additional stop for 1S37 at Stafford ..

VTWC Control, assuming CS agreed to pay them any costs of doing so.

RailUK Forums

6Z09 · 12 Jun 2019

The privatised rail industry does not have spare rolling stock or staff!
Things like route knowledge are company specific,leading to a loss of route knowledge.
Not a flexible place at all now.

BRX · 12 Jun 2019

WesternLancer said:
Simple logic (but maybe not cost driven decision making) would say - a good reason to keep a set of Mk3 sleepers spare for longer over the transition period, but pics in the railway press show them being cut up ASAP.

This is why I was quite surprised to see them not only being taken out of service early but immediately sent for scrap. At the time I thought - what if some unforeseen problem with the mk5s substantially delays their introduction further?

Seeing as the faults with the mk5s appear to be quite extensive, you have to wonder whether they could be sorted out more effectively - and in the long run more quickly - by reverting to mk3s on the Lowlander for a couple of months, rather than trying to do what looks like a fire-fighting exercise, trying to deal with problems in the limited windows between active service.

Hipster Dashie · 12 Jun 2019

Looks like the wheel damage means that set's totally out of action. Tonight's down Lowlander service has just been cancelled. Full refunds being offered to all guests, even those wishing to travel on the replacement night coaches.

https://www.sleeper.scot/service-alterations/

Essexman · 12 Jun 2019

Southbound Lowlander cancelled tonight.
How long is it likely to take to repair?

Hipster Dashie · 12 Jun 2019

And just on a side note: spotted this at Eastleigh depot whilst travelling up from Hedge End to Winchester!

Bletchleyite · 12 Jun 2019

Essexman said:
Southbound Lowlander cancelled tonight.
How long is it likely to take to repair?

Presumably just going to require a trip to a wheel lathe, so not that long.

Aren't they all delivered yet? I'd have thought they could use a Highlander set?

island · 12 Jun 2019

Hipster Dashie said:
Tonight's down Lowlander service has just been cancelled.

Essexman said:
Southbound Lowlander cancelled tonight.

Which is it?

Bletchleyite · 12 Jun 2019

island said:
Which is it?

The up, not the down.

Mainliner · 12 Jun 2019

From bad to worse, what a debacle, on so many levels.

trebor79 · 12 Jun 2019

Full refund is fair enough, but who wants to start a coach journey to London at midnight? If I was CS, I'd be offering either a ticket on an evening train and London hotel, or Glasgow/Edinburgh hotel and ticket on an early morning train.
That would be looking after ~~passengers~~ guests. I'd have been mightily miffed a few weeks ago to have been offered a choice of a coach or sort out my own arrangements at short notice, even with a refund. I'd rather they kept the dosh and sorted me out properly.

Bletchleyite · 12 Jun 2019

trebor79 said:
Full refund is fair enough, but who wants to start a coach journey to London at midnight?

The people who are booked on the Megabuses and National Expresses that do just that?

If it's important to be there in the morning, it might be the only valid choice.

If I was CS, I'd be offering either a ticket on an evening train and London hotel, or Glasgow/Edinburgh hotel and ticket on an early morning train.
That would be looking after ~~passengers~~ guests. I'd have been mightily miffed a few weeks ago to have been offered a choice of a coach or sort out my own arrangements at short notice, even with a refund. I'd rather they kept the dosh and sorted me out properly.

Anytime Single from Edinburgh to London is £161.50. I haven't seen a CS bed for less than that recently, this being the case a refund probably actually is best. If you get an Advance or can go off-peak (£20 cheaper) you're really quids in.

It's the seated passengers who will be really stuck, as that's far cheaper than any day train fare - I guess that'd be Megabus or bust - or take CS's coach.

Mingulay · 12 Jun 2019

trebor79 said:
Full refund is fair enough, but who wants to start a coach journey to London at midnight? If I was CS, I'd be offering either a ticket on an evening train and London hotel, or Glasgow/Edinburgh hotel and ticket on an early morning train.
That would be looking after ~~passengers~~ guests. I'd have been mightily miffed a few weeks ago to have been offered a choice of a coach or sort out my own arrangements at short notice, even with a refund. I'd rather they kept the dosh and sorted me out properly.

A colleague of mine due to travel to London tonight has just checked and seen its canceled . But he has not received notification from CS. He has just checked . Seems a poor service if you are not notified . He would have taken the last train from Drem to Waverley tonight only to have found out there . He has now booked a flight to Luton.

Seems Serco have mirrored Abellio . Big hype and promises of better things to come . Introduction gets significantly delayed and then it badly flops with tech and staffing problems . Transport Scotland fingerprints on it too !

WesternLancer · 12 Jun 2019

trebor79 said:
Full refund is fair enough, but who wants to start a coach journey to London at midnight? If I was CS, I'd be offering either a ticket on an evening train and London hotel, or Glasgow/Edinburgh hotel and ticket on an early morning train.
That would be looking after ~~passengers~~ guests. I'd have been mightily miffed a few weeks ago to have been offered a choice of a coach or sort out my own arrangements at short notice, even with a refund. I'd rather they kept the dosh and sorted me out properly.

All good points, or chartering a plane and offering seats on that. No idea what that costs but might be cheaper!

WesternLancer · 12 Jun 2019

6Z09 said:
The privatised rail industry does not have spare rolling stock or staff!
Things like route knowledge are company specific,leading to a loss of route knowledge.
Not a flexible place at all now.

Well, yes, you are right, but that's just a 'business decision' isn't it. They have bid to operate the franchise on the basis that they have / had no need to have warm stored rolling stock as a fall back, and the specification did not require it. There are spare sleepers, they are just presumably off lease now and thus being sent for razor blades, the decision to do that was not some sort of iron law, it was a choice made in various people's decision making processes...

WesternLancer · 12 Jun 2019

Bletchleyite said:
It's the seated passengers who will be really stuck, as that's far cheaper than any day train fare - I guess that'd be Megabus or bust - or take CS's coach.

For which a quality operation would say - "let us know if you want a day time train ticket valid on the last train tonight or tomorrow" and buy them a walk up ticket at CS's expense, bought in bulk they might even get a group purchase discount from LNER or VT!

nlogax · 12 Jun 2019

So far this is filling me with confidence for my northbound Lowlander booking towards the end of next week.

trebor79 · 12 Jun 2019

Bletchleyite said:
The people who are booked on the Megabuses and National Expresses that do just that?

Anytime Single from Edinburgh to London is £161.50. I haven't seen a CS bed for less than that recently, this being the case a refund probably actually is best. If you get an Advance or can go off-peak (£20 cheaper) you're really quids in.

If I were CS I'd have paid for those tickets and the hotels. If you're offering the journey of a nighttime and a hotel on wheel, you have to do something better than offer an overnight coach when unable to run. In my opinion.
It's not just about getting people to London and giving them a refund, it's about reputational damage. All of those passengers are going to be really tired off, refund or no refund. If they were offered a choice of evening or morning train and a hotel for the night there's a fair chance some of them would have been delighted.

MylesHSG · 12 Jun 2019

There is a 16 car Mk2/3 set sat in Wembley ICD.

Anyone know where the Mk5 set with wheel flats has gone? Did it go up to Scotland?

Highlandspring · 12 Jun 2019

MylesHSG said:
Anyone know where the Mk5 set with wheel flats has gone? Did it go up to Scotland?

It ran from Stafford to Crewe at 15mph and is still there being examined by staff from CAF.

hwl · 12 Jun 2019

MylesHSG said:
There is a 16 car Mk2/3 set sat in Wembley ICD.

Anyone know where the Mk5 set with wheel flats has gone? Did it go up to Scotland?

As per previous page - Crewe

woodhouse122 · 12 Jun 2019

Off on the CS lowlander to Glasgow on Sunday night, dreading having to do a coach,hopefully all this can sorted out in time ( I'm booked on the seated carrage but I shouldn't have to endure a coach,glad I opted out of paying for a cabin)

trebor79 · 12 Jun 2019

I should think it will take more than a few days to get the set to a wheel lathe, and all the wheelsets turned.

diffident · 12 Jun 2019

I was going to ask, where is the DfT in all of this nonsense, where is the Rail focus groups, and more specifically, I note a lack of input from the Rail Delivery Group also.

The RDG should surely be putting up some form of excuses, normally from the hired in ex-Sky News'er Robert Nisbet, but no, seems total silence on the matter.

Scotrail84 · 12 Jun 2019

trebor79 said:
I should think it will take more than a few days to get the set to a wheel lathe, and all the wheelsets turned.

Depends where the nearest lathe capable of accommodating mk5s is, and how many of these bogies are damaged. Could be weeks.

Highlandspring · 12 Jun 2019

Rumour has it the wheelsets may be scrap. That’s just what I’ve heard though.

Bletchleyite · 12 Jun 2019

Highlandspring said:
Rumour has it the wheelsets may be scrap. That’s just what I’ve heard though.

How on earth did that happen? Even a full wheels-locked emergency braking from linespeed surely shouldn't write wheelsets off. Were there multiple incidents during the night, or was the set hauled a significant distance with locked wheels?

captainbigun · 12 Jun 2019

Easily. Locked wheels from 80mph. It is ruinous. Brake application was as a result of the brake being dumped so there was no haulage with them locked other than being brought to a halt.

Bletchleyite · 12 Jun 2019

captainbigun said:
Easily. Locked wheels from 80mph. It is ruinous. Brake application was as a result of the brake being dumped so there was no haulage with them locked other than being brought to a halt.

So is that generally the case, that a full emergency stop from linespeed on most stock will result in the wheelsets being scrap? That's pricey.

MadCommuter · 12 Jun 2019

Highlandspring said:
Rumour has it the wheelsets may be scrap. That’s just what I’ve heard though.

Should this be true, what would be the expected time to obtain replacements I presume they aren't available at your local hardware store.

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