Far too much focus on counting the pennies here and not on the broader service the CS offers.
I agree with this sentiment ^ Seems that they are a fair few bean counters on the forum.
I'm not vexed that sleeper services - and many rural routes - don't make a profit. They provide an important social service keeping communities connected. So long as revenue on intercity and key regional routes remain healthy then I'm entirely comfortable with the concept of cross subsidy.
Various public bodies and institutions - eg the health service - don't make a profit. The public (if opinion polls are correct) are happy for their tax pounds to subside them. I'm sure there would be similar support if people were polled about financial support for their local train service.
I doubt the Tories see it that way, obviously.
That's not correct - you definitely can book CS berths through RST Online. But Priv availability is limited, so you won't always see something come up.
I popped in a random date in December for a Euston to Edinburgh train and this is the message in the fares box :
"Caledonian Sleeper Trains -All fares shown include seating accommodation ONLY. Reservations are compulsory and travel cannot be guaranteed if reservations are not made in advance. For further information and to make bookings for fares that include Sleeper Berth accommodation, please visit http://sleeper.scot or telephone 0330 060 0500."
But then having another play around it offered a "Classic Solo" fare one way for about £50. Although it didn't specify if that included the fare or was just for the berth. However, although the mixing deck allowed me to select that fare, when it came to the final checkout screen it said that there were no more reservations available for that service.
I'm fairly proficient at booking online tickets but in future I'll think I'll phone up to be sure of what I'm getting. RST was giving me brain ache.