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Caledonian Sleeper Mk5 Discussion

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sleeper fan

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TimboM said:
"Unit 3" nonetheless for fans of Mk5 Unit numbers ;)
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Does that mean they might be in service for June 28th and not the July date given....please say no and that the mk3s will still be there only just booked mainly because price came down with the mk3s back on the route after June 3rd and because it was the delightful old trains.
 
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TimboM

TimboM

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sleeper fan said:
Why the commissioning runs this week then
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Yesterday was the first time ever Mk5s have been to Inverness. They're on test/training runs between Inverness and Perth Mon-Thu this week.
There's a lot still to do to introduce a full service - it's not like you run a rake up and down the line a few times one week then they're ready to enter service the following week.
CS have advertised 7th July (northbound) and 8th July (southbound) for the Mk5 launch on Highlander - and they've a big task on to achieve those. You will have Mk3s/Mk2s for your trip - you can be pretty much guaranteed of that!
 
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TimboM said:
Yesterday was the first time ever Mk5s have been to Inverness. They're on test/training runs between Inverness and Perth Mon-Thu this week.
There's a lot still to do to introduce a full service - it's not like you run a rake up and down the line a few times one week then they're ready to enter service the following week.
CS have advertised 7th July (northbound) and 8th July (southbound) for the Mk5 launch on Highlander - and they've a big task on to achieve those. You will have Mk3s/Mk2s for your trip - you can be pretty much guaranteed of that!
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That’s good. The MK3s are very nice in my opinion! I knew they didn’t just run a few time but I had thought the mk5s had been to Inverness before
 
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BRX said:
Sort of.
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The Mk2s don't work, mostly. The odd, seemingly unique heating system[1] definitely doesn't. That said, if only Euston had a slightly longer platform they'd have been swapped for Mk3s years ago.

[1] I've long wondered why they have a unique blown-air heating system - is it because they're paranoid of having electric radiators in night trains after the Westcountry fire that caused the end of the Mk1 sleepers?
 
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31160

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Having travelled on the Lowland northbound on Sunday, the seats on MK5's arnt anywhere near as comfortable as the old MK2's, they are a standard class width and not first class width seat as before they just have a better sized gangway, dont pick rows 11 as you just have a solid wall to look at all night also in the guards area they have cupboards for stock in witch the stewards seam to access and shut up in the most noisy way possible and on Sunday at least from the seats you had to walk 4 full carriage lengths to find a working loo, not massively impressed if I'm honest, oh and the seats were hard
 
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Bletchleyite

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31160 said:
Having travelled on the Lowland northbound on Sunday, the seats on MK5's arnt anywhere near as comfortable as the old MK2's, they are a standard class width and not first class width seat
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They're not. They are the First Class seats used in the Class 800s. Which aren't great so far as First Class seats go, but they aren't abnormally narrow.
 
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trebor79

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Newsflash, sitting in a seat on an overnight train is an unpleasant experience!
 
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31160

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Bletchleyite said:
They're not. They are the First Class seats used in the Class 800s. Which aren't great so far as First Class seats go, but they aren't abnormally narrow.
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Well if that's right I can see the amount of first class season tickets going just one way, it really wasnt nice and at least my seat didn't recline, but I appreciate that might have just been mine, but for a train as new as they are the amount of niggling faults has to be a concern to somebody
 
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Bletchleyite

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31160 said:
Well if that's right I can see the amount of first class season tickets going just one way, it really wasnt nice and at least my seat didn't recline, but I appreciate that might have just been mine, but for a train as new as they are the amount of niggling faults has to be a concern to somebody
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I did try one of those seats on an 800 with a view to going Weekend First but declined as it was not worth the extra, FWIW. They do recline, though (standard railway-style, i.e. pulling the base forwards), so if yours didn't it was broken.
 
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Bletchleyite

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31160 said:
Not allways
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Depends if you can sleep upright. Only time I've slept even vaguely properly in the seats was actually on the Night Riviera where it's 2+2 but lightly loaded so I could curl up (those who have met me will know that that means properly curling up :) ) across two seats with the armrest up and using my bag as a pillow.
 
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Maude673

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Is there any remote possibility that serco admit defeat and pull the mk5 out of service until the toilet issue is fixed. My mother in law is a regular user and was faced with no working toilets on her way to visit us in Glasgow on Thursday night. They were overflowing before departing Euston. Then she was faced with a similar story heading southbound on Sunday, with the toilets on her coach (and the next 4) out of action by Carlisle. This is clearly a major problem on an 8 hour journey and passengers shouldn’t be subjected to such inhumane conditions. Note she was in the seated coach not an en-suite cabin. Customer service has also dropped off a cliff edge since mk 5 introduction, with staff seeming frazzled and irritated. Hate to say it, but the customer service was way better in first bus ScotRail days. Serco have totally alienated their regular customer base.
 
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Bletchleyite said:
The Mk3s have gone for scrap, haven't they? So I doubt it.
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Shame if that’s the case. I’ve seen some sitting a Polmaddie but I guess that they are highlander stock.

Is there a working solution being developed to the toilet issue? I cant believe they’re knowingly going to spread the issue to the highlander service as well.
 
TimboM

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Maude673 said:
Shame if that’s the case. I’ve seen some sitting a Polmaddie but I guess that they are highlander stock.

Is there a working solution being developed to the toilet issue? I cant believe they’re knowingly going to spread the issue to the highlander service as well.
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Only 8 went for scrap and that was before the Lowlander went to Mk5. The ones that rest are at Wembley / Polmadie still, or at the Weardale Railway in the case of the Mk2s.

There’s several issues other than just the toilets/plumbing. All of which are being worked on.

It’s not really a surprise the staff are irritated and stressed.
 
JohnMcL7

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Anyone know when the mk5's are leaving Inverness? They're sitting too far back to get a good picture of them so want to catch them when they go.
 
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I observed tonight's (Thu 13/06/2019) Lowland sleeper at London Euston. It was formed with just seven Mk5s for the Glasgow portion and the Edinburgh portion was er "to be road coaches" :oops:.

Information at Euston was rather poor. Ticket office staff thought the whole service was coaches. Platform staff were unsure where the coaches were to depart from. Rumour is that the computer slammed the brakes on at over 70mph leading to wheel flats and that the seven coaches were the ones with the least flat wheels. Goodness knows where all the spare Mk5s are. Surely there must be plenty spare as the Highland sleeper is still in the hands of Mk3s & Mk2s :(.

EDIT - Formation of the above Glasgow only was :-
92038
15323, 15322, 15321, 15317,
15207,
15109,
15004,
92010 (rear/left behind)
presumably a 153xx was missing from this Glasgow only train (portion) ?.
 
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TimboM

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Bletchleyite said:
More square wheels? Oh dear, that'll cost (tuts quietly).
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Did Highlandspring say anything about square wheels...?

Peter Sarf said:
Goodness knows where all the spare Mk5s are. Surely there must be plenty spare as the Highland sleeper is still in the hands of Mk3s & Mk2s :(.
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They're still being tested/commissioned and not ready for public/passenger service, so there are not "plenty spare". There's quite evidently few/none spare at this stage.
If the other ones were all tested/commissioned and ready to go, they wouldn't have postponed the Highlander launch...!
 
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