Thing is that the 'connection' at mallaig is so rubbish anyway, the sleeper has to be more than two hours late to miss it...While some tourists have all the time in the world and a delay of a few hours will just be part of the journey, sometimes air/rail/sea/road connections are time critical, often by minutes.
I'd be pretty hacked off if a arrival at fort William was hours late, missing a connection to Mallaig and thus a ferry to the small isles or elsewhere that may be daily..
Thing is that the 'connection' at mallaig is so rubbish anyway, the sleeper has to be more than two hours late to miss it...
That's just asking for troubleNot necessarily, a few tourists will be hoping to make The Jacobite steam train, that departs Fort William 10.15, just under 20 minutes after the arrival of the sleeper.
The 86 will have had 16 trucks and a Skoda on the back too - about 700 tonne I think - somewhat heavier than a Pendo.I was surprised last Tuesday morning, 13 Aug, when departing Euston on the 10.07 to Liverpool, to run out in parallel with the empty stock Mk 3 sleeper which was on the slow line, the Class 86, 53 years old, notably fully keeping up alongside the Liverpool Pendolino up Camden Bank and as far out as Kensal Green. Can it be that it is allowed to sit in Euston platforms through the peak hour until 10.00 ?
Going the other way the arrival from Mallaig arrives at Fort William 13 mins before departure of the Sleeper. If that train is late what are sleeper passengers supposed to do?
Thank you.The 86 will have had 16 trucks and a Skoda on the back too - about 700 tonne I think - somewhat heavier than a Pendo.
I've got a feeling that one of the reasons that the Fort William connection is tight is historical in that in days of yore, and I mean before mk3s, the three day coaches off the sleeper continued to Mallaig and back in the evening. So it was effectively the same train, with First Class, a kitchen, the lot, and you could get on at Mallaig, eat, and then go to bed whenever you liked after Fort William.
Fair enough, I'm only going by what I've been told, but I was close! My main point was that ancient history may play a part in the tight connections.Not exactly. Up until the timetable was reconfigured for the Sprinters (1988?), the sleepers formed part of the 3 normal Glasgow-Fort William services, conveyed on the 0600 from Queen Street and 1600 from Mallaig. The sleepers and the day coach were attached or detached at Fort William and other coaches including a buffet travelled between Glasgow and Mallaig.
There was a buffet car service "available for whole or part or journey". It did not travel south of Glasgow.
I've got a feeling that one of the reasons that the Fort William connection is tight is historical in that in days of yore, and I mean before mk3s, the three day coaches off the sleeper continued to Mallaig and back in the evening. So it was effectively the same train, with First Class, a kitchen, the lot, and you could get on at Mallaig, eat, and then go to bed whenever you liked after Fort William.
I can think of worse lessons that could be taken from history. The tourist industry would burst with excitement.
In ScotRail sleeper days (and a bit into Serco ) didn’t the guard off the Mallaig service work the sleeper as far as Rannoch? They couldn’t go without him/her, even Serco!
Sure, but it's not a 'connection' as such - you can't buy a through ticket, it's a lot more expensive than the regular service, and you can't rely on being able to get a walk-up ticket. Unlike with a normal connecting service neither company is going to help you if you miss it.Not necessarily, a few tourists will be hoping to make The Jacobite steam train, that departs Fort William 10.15, just under 20 minutes after the arrival of the sleeper.
the fact that CS do everything they can to discourage through tickets
What protection is that then?That is an interesting thought actually, and I must admit I've never seen the option of buying an advance ticket for travel on the sleeper, where the journey does not wholly take place on the sleeper. I.e. a Euston to Fort William advance classic single is fine, however a Bitterne to Mallaig advance single with a sleeper berth included, for example, is not.
The only way I can see you doing a through ticket would be to purchase the relevant Off Peak ticket before adding on a berth supplement. This seems to make the journey horrendously expensive. However, if you split the journey into your sleeper advance, and then your journeys before and after, you lose the protection that travelling on a through ticket offers.
It makes it clear it's the TOCs' responsibility to sort you out if connections are missed due to late trains. In theory this is still the case when the tickets are bought independently (I think) but in practice seems to be less strictly observed and to be a source of disagreements.What protection is that then?
Can you post the detail, I hadn't heard of this and can't find it on the website?I normally use the sleeper alone but have persuaded my wife to accompany me to Edinburgh. CS website shows I can use just one Flexipass ticket to book two passengers into a club room. Is that correct? If so it seems a good deal.
Are you booking the lowlander (any date) or the highlander after 30 September? For a journey from London to Glasgow in mid-September, for two adults, I can get the booking engine to show “1 flexipass per room” on the page that has Double, Club, Classic and Seats on it. When I choose either Club or Classic though and move to the next page it charges 2 flexipass (1 for each person), which is expected. Is that what you are seeing?I normally use the sleeper alone but have persuaded my wife to accompany me to Edinburgh. CS website shows I can use just one Flexipass ticket to book two passengers into a club room. Is that correct? If so it seems a good deal.
As well as the aforementioned through journey protection (the TOCs would be obligated to get you to your final destination as opposed to what was on that particular split of your ticket) you'd also be entitled for a much larger degree of Delay Repay.What protection is that then?
Some might wonder if it's convenient for CS to minimise the number of passengers on board with onward connections.
The chance to buy a through ticket from London to Kyle would be great, though- another thing I miss from Scotrail days.
Are you booking the lowlander (any date) or the highlander after 30 September? For a journey from London to Glasgow in mid-September, for two adults, I can get the booking engine to show “1 flexipass per room” on the page that has Double, Club, Classic and Seats on it. When I choose either Club or Classic though and move to the next page it charges 2 flexipass (1 for each person), which is expected. Is that what you are seeing?
You can. Buy an Any Permitted Super Off Peak Single or Return from London to Kyle from the retailer of your choice, then buy a room supplement from CS (perhaps best the other way round in case CS are sold out). It might not be cheaper but it does give you what you want.