As much as his work is a load of waffle, most of it is actually what is going on and current problems of the sleeper, despite some reports being a tad pathetic (ie, no coffee available).
The coffee seems to me to be a bit ’First World Problems’ (although if it is included in the fare, the TOC should ideally offer a travel voucher or a voucher for a station outlet as compensation- their passengers’ charter suggests that this should be offered, but I’ve never put in such a claim). However, the frequency with which the problems with door interlock, brake demands and fire alarms are recurring on the Mk5s is a serious issue, and I would also note that punctuality is currently a bit of an issue with the northbound Highlander- aside from the Inverness passengers being turfed off at Perth this morning and arriving 2 hours late on a Scotrail HST, if RTT is anything to go by, the northbound Aberdeen and especially Fort William portions seem regularly to arrive between 30 and 60 minutes late at their destinations (today the Fort William portion arrived only a few minutes down, and the Aberdeen was about 20 down, but the delays to these portions were more serious earlier in the week). It seems to me (from a cursory glance at RTT) that time is almost always lost during the split at Edinburgh, and I’m not sure why this is. The northbound Inverness portion very often departs Edinburgh about 20 late, but is generally able to recover this (or most of this) en route. The Fort William portion seems to have the most difficulty, particularly if the direct route via Falkirk High is not an option and it continues to run via Bathgate and Airdrie as booked (possibly out of path and squeezing in among the intensive EMU workings). CS need to sort this soon, as many users of CS are not tourists and will be making time-critical journeys (often involving onward connections).
I’ll be on the northbound Inverness portion on Tuesday night arriving in Inverness on Wednesday morning, with a connection onto the 8.55 Kyle train. I’m very much looking forward to travelling on the Mk5s but am not especially optimistic about a right time arrival in the light of recent events. I’m sure the staff will do everything they can to help though if we’re delayed, and because my journey is not time-critical, it won’t be the end of the world for me if I end up getting the 10.56 rather than the 8.55 out west to Kyle. That said, a lot of other passengers’ journeys may well be time-critical, and I would not fancy relying on CS for a time-critical journey at present.