The lamb shank - for sure on the current menu, the report is from within the week - is very good at the moment I believe, but brace yourself for £14 or so.
£14 for a lamb shank is cheaper than you’ll pay in most restaurants.
The lamb shank - for sure on the current menu, the report is from within the week - is very good at the moment I believe, but brace yourself for £14 or so.
Out of interest how does the passenger count for the West Highland section compare to the Aberdeen these days? I have a sneaky feeling that during the summer anyway the seated coach should really go to Fort William.
The inverness and Aberdeen services depart as and when they are complete so you will probably be required to alight as soon as practicably possible.
I could see that being a sensible thing to do. Aberdeen isn't really a touristy place, and CS do seem to be basing the whole operation on tourism rather than weekly commuters e.g. to the oil rigs.
The order of the Highlanders and the Waverley shunts has now changed, so there is now a need for Fort Bill passengers to get off the Aberdeen seats promptly otherwise find they are going east not west. (The rationale for the change is so the half-set with the 1x PRM Sleeper and 7x Sleeper coaches stays on Inverness (Highlander) and Edinburgh (Lowlander) - but that's a different debate...)Last time I went, I was woken on the approach to Edinburgh and indicated that I should get off on arrival. In practice, they left the doors locked for another 30 minutes and then I still had to wait on the platform for part of the shunt.
I am going again on Monday night so will see if the practice has changed. In theory, there is no need for the staff to ask you to get off the Aberdeen portion until about 40 minutes after the whole train has arrived in Edinburgh (assuming it is running to time).
As illustrated, the whole portions would need to be switched over (i.e. ABD becomes FTW and FTW becomes ABD, FTW leaves first, ABD has the day coaches shunted on etc) to make this work. It's probably logistically unfeasible as things such as timings/paths, the infamous TCMS and booking systems would need to change with the seasons - and would need significant forward planning. Would probably end in (more) chaos.Out of interest how does the passenger count for the West Highland section compare to the Aberdeen these days? I have a sneaky feeling that during the summer anyway the seated coach should really go to Fort William.
Last time I went, I was woken on the approach to Edinburgh and indicated that I should get off on arrival. In practice, they left the doors locked for another 30 minutes and then I still had to wait on the platform for part of the shunt.
I am going again on Monday night so will see if the practice has changed. In theory, there is no need for the staff to ask you to get off the Aberdeen portion until about 40 minutes after the whole train has arrived in Edinburgh (assuming it is running to time).
.I wondered if that person was suggesting that you didn't have to stand on the platform for half an hour while they faff about. On the old service you could stay on board the Aberdeen coach until the shunt was complete, though when I've done it I've chosen a wander around watching for half an hour as I can't sleep in a seat anyway. I recall reading somewhere on here that that now isn't a choice and you have to get off as soon as it arrives else you're going to Aberdeen.
There isn't a counter any more, it's a trolley I believe.
I have no idea why not, it just doesn't feature on the seated coach menu.
Following these moves through, it does mean the Fort William seated passengers have to get off ABD soon after it arrives and wait until the Fort William is all set up some time later. Plenty of interesting shunt moves to observe during the wait though
No theres not, its an at seat service.
Either way, it's not a buffet counter and you have to wait for them to get around to doing it, unlike before when you could go to the counter when you wanted. Whether it's a physical trolley or someone taking orders is far less relevant.
My recent experiences are that, in the seats, you're unlikely to be offered anything until 90mins - 2hrs into the journey. I now take my own supplies.
I did Euston-Fort William in the seats on Tuesday, after arrival in Edinburgh I was approcahed by someone in high-vis and asked if I was going to Fort William, then just told to "wait at the end of the train" which turned out to be for well over half an hour in 4 degrees with no real information but plenty of staff busy working and seemingly discussing the best method for the shunting(!). Inverness portion leaves first, then Aberdeen and then finally the WHL day coaches are attached. I was the only passenger in the seated section and just before depature was handed a plastic-wrapped blanket with warning that the carriage "gets very cold." Can't really recommend it, I didn't mind so much as I got to see the new shunting process but I can only imagine any normal passengers would not be at all happy with the whole ordeal at 4am!Just a quick question guys:
When a passenger takes the Fort William train from Euston/Watford/Crewe/Preston, to somewhere north of Edinburgh (in the seated coach),passengers have to alight at Edinburgh while the coaches are shunted round, right?
There's no at seat service, it's the same as before. I did hear before there was going to be though it's better this way anyway, you don't have to go far to get refreshments and it means you can whenever you like without getting your sleep disturbed when you don't want to.No theres not, its an at seat service.
I could see that being a sensible thing to do. Aberdeen isn't really a touristy place, and CS do seem to be basing the whole operation on tourism rather than weekly commuters e.g. to the oil rigs.
i would have thought rig workers were unlikely customers. How many of them live far enough South to make the sleeper worthwhile?
My sister-in-law used to work on rigs out of Aberdeen and lived in London. She used to fly north though.I would have thought rig workers were unlikely customers. How many of them live far enough South to make the sleeper worthwhile?
Yes, but for the first 'run' you're expected to wait for the steward to pass through the carriage taking orders. The call button can then be used for any subsequent orders. In practice staff have been focused on the lounge car with the seats only getting served once the initial rush in the lounge is cleared.Did you push the call attendant button above your head??
The 3 weeks on 3 off (or similar) nature of offshore work makes living anywhere in the UK entirely practical, and with the rise of budget flights even further. I know of one guy who 'commuted' from Italy. Knowing his shifts well ahead of time return flights could often be booked for less than I paid for a week of rail commuting based on 50 mile return journey.i would have thought rig workers were unlikely customers. How many of them live far enough South to make the sleeper worthwhile?
More relevantly the helicopters land them at the airport.....an airport from where they can fly to a load of airports across the British Isles. It would be a bit weird to instead make the not hugely convenient transfer to Aberdeen station to get a train that probably costs more.
Where are the oil company offices, by the airport or in central Aberdeen? If they were in central Aberdeen then the executives needing to get to/from London are more likely customers than the rig workers.
i would have thought rig workers were unlikely customers. How many of them live far enough South to make the sleeper worthwhile?
More relevantly the helicopters land them at the airport.....an airport from where they can fly to a load of airports across the British Isles. It would be a bit weird to instead make the not hugely convenient transfer to Aberdeen station to get a train that probably costs more.
Where are the oil company offices, by the airport or in central Aberdeen? If they were in central Aberdeen then the executives needing to get to/from London are more likely customers than the rig workers.
The chicken is rather nice in my opinion. The full breakfast in the lounge is also notably better than it was a year ago. View attachment 70710
picture of the chicken attached.
The lamb shank - for sure on the current menu, the report is from within the week - is very good at the moment I believe, but brace yourself for £14 or so.
Bacon roll is the safest breakfast option says quite a few people.
The chicken dish is very decent to be fair; I believe that in the Mk5 lounges they can oven-cook some of the dishes; certainly the quality of some of the meals has (I think) improved from the Mk2 days.
I think that the menus have to be different because some items (i.e. things that spill easily) may not be suitable for take-away to the seated coach/moving through narrow corridors for room service, but I’m not sure why whisky can’t be sold to the seated coach. If you asked for it at the counter I don’t see what the problem would be?
The menu on my journeys over the last two weeks was different to the one online. The chicken is served with red cabbage and stovies IIRC
Forgive me if this has been answered up-thread, but what order does the southbound Highlander run in south of Edinburgh, please? Has it changed from the Mk2/3 days?
That's perfect - thank you! As it happens, I do INV-EUS and the shorter trudge at Euston in the morning will be very welcome!Yes, it has. Departing Euston (1S25), the Aberdeen portion (A, then lounge, then sleepers B-D) is closest to the buffer stops, followed by the Fort William portion (Sleepers E-G), with the Inverness portion (H, then lounge, then sleepers J-P) at the front directly behind the loco. Then coming into Euston (1M16), the loco has the Inverness portion directly behind it (H, then lounge, then sleepers J-P), then the Aberdeen portion (A then lounge, then sleepers B-D) then the Fort William (sleepers E-G) at the rear.
This means that if you’re in the Inverness portion, you’ve got much more of a walk than you were used to when boarding the down train in the evenings, but coming back into Euston, you’ll be surprised to find yourself much closer to the buffer stops than you remembered
Cheers all. The last time I was on the Sleeper the lounge car was out of action and I had to make a quick dash to the Church Street Co-Op for a meal deal.
Surely there comes a point (4hours before departure?) where any extra income, even £10, is profitable.Even allowing for the logic of marginal pricing, there must come a point when fares are too low, and just not worth selling.
Surely there comes a point (4hours before departure?) where any extra income, even £10, is profitable.
You have the loco the staff, the track access charges, and the food and drink purchased and on board. None of those increase if there's 201 people on board compared to if there's only 200 people.
In other words, the one extra person paying a tenner has increased your income by a tenner without increasing any of your expenditure.
Or they might not by extra food. And no, they don't cost "pennies". In any case, as another poster said, you have now started to set an expectation of lower prices. Lots of people will wait to buy till the last minute. Revenue will decrease, or become less certain. Your economics will get even worse.But equally that one extra person on board, having got a great ticket deal, may spend treble the amount as someone else on food and drink on board.
Surely the 4 points you mention cost pennies in relation to everything else?