Sharing cabins with strangers was as archaic as not having the option of an ensuite - just about fit for the 1980s, but no more than that.
That said, it's interesting how different people have different views on privacy and safety on board the sleeper. I wouldn't share a room with anyone other than someone I know very well, but I find the idea of complaining that privacy is being invaded in the lounge as really quite weird. Do these people try to have other passengers barred from their table on daytime trains as well?
It might be a cultural thing - way back in First days I was in the lounge and there was a bit of distress from a passenger in discussion with staff nearby. The chap was American and was terrified to go to bed (he had a solo cabin) because he was convinced that his room would be broken into and he'd be attacked or robbed in the night. He was absolutely serious. They persuaded him to go in the end.
I've never heard the 'police advice' line either, I think someone's making things up!
I for one was astounded by the absurd rule about not sharing tables, but it does seem as though the service is being used by fewer regulars and more one-off tourists, many of whom will not be familiar with the service’s quirks and who often (having heard personally some of their conversations with staff) seem to be paranoid about safety and security. Believe it or not, there were (even three years ago) complaints about sharing tables as much as there were complaints about sharing cabins, with ’safety’, ’privacy’ and ’security’ frequently being mentioned. Your story about the American does not surprise me in the slightest in the light of what I’ve heard- some of the occasional travellers that I witnessed acted as though they were about to walk through the Bronx at 2am, they seemed so on edge about being sexually assaulted/robbed. Maybe night trains in other parts of the world have that reputation, but a good number of UK passengers seemed on edge too. I wonder what makes the sleeper so different from a day train where you’d share a table with other travellers anyway, or why passengers think there’s a greater chance of thefts from a berth/sleeper lounge car than from a luggage rack on a day train? Some of the occasional travellers honestly thought that this was the case. As a regular traveller, I know that any criminal activity on the sleeper is highly unlikely, but some occasional travellers thought otherwise. As is self-evident, none of these complaints came from regulars but from one-off travellers, who had perhaps been misled by some of the ’hotel on wheels’ marketing hype, even though the Mk5s were not even in the country at this point. I suppose they fell for the marketing and expected a ’hotel-quality’ experience with first-class Pullman dining, and so were perhaps a bit put out when they discovered the reality of the service with the Mk2s and Mk3s...
While there is no need to blame CS for this, I do wonder whether the situation might have been improved by CS’ ensuring that much clearer and more detailed information was given not only on the website, but also over the phone and in booking offices when travellers were booking their accommodation. I can honestly say that, having booked standard class berths over the phone and at station booking offices in the days when sharing was allowed, no mention was ever made of the need to share the cabin with a stranger. The website did say so, but not as clearly as it could have done in my view. Had a passenger unfamiliar with the service used either of those booking channels, it may never have been made clear to them that this would be expected to them. In addition, I wonder whether there is anything more that the crews on the train itself can do to put unfamiliar travellers at ease? Fortunately they have gone back to the old check-in system now, and once again hosts are asking travellers if they’ve travelled before, so hopefully they can be given a quick introduction to the service and be reassured that they’re in safe hands.
