One advantage of the coach is they dim the lights .
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Caledonian Sleeper
- Thread starter Essexman
- Start date
One advantage of the coach is they dim the lights .
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My brother and I went up to Fort William on the sleeper in Feb last year. We got on at Crewe and had seats booked going North , so of course had to get off and wait for the carriages to appear at Edinburgh before heading up to Fort William. It was only around Rannoch that we worked out you could recline them, doh!
Return journey we had berths and thoroughly enjoyed the experience on the old stock, great watching the sunset on the WHL with your head out of the window (the conductor (??) was more than happy for us to pop our heads out and warned us where to watch out for branches) .We spent a good few hours in the lounge car - mainly because there wasn't any service on the chip and pin machine to pay for our drinks and it was nice and relaxed if a bit dated. Not sampled the new stock yet and probably wont for a while.
It stops at Manchester, Manchester Airport and Birmingham, hitting Birmingham around 7.20am. The detour for these stops just adds time relative to going direct on the M6.
I see , the 2245 from Glasgow to London appears to be non stop now
Norther Monkey
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There is but, in my experience, it's next to useless. Staff give priority to those in cabins using the lounge car. This means that you may not have the opportunity (on the Highlander) to get anything within 2 hours of departure. It worked much better when you could walk to a hatch and the steward could take just a few seconds to serve you between lounge customers.
With a railcard it's a great price, but manage your expectations to avoid disappointment.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
They are exactly the same seats as Class 80x First Class, yes.
swapmeetpete
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The seats are not ideal but the ride is a bigger problem imho.
PaxVobiscum
Established Member
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51425482
All above just so that I can ask if the “blanket speed restriction” will apply to the Sleeper
All above just so that I can ask if the “blanket speed restriction” will apply to the Sleeper
Far north 37
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I would imagine so if its a network wide restriction.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51425482
All above just so that I can ask if the “blanket speed restriction” will apply to the Sleeper
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
I would expect the Sleeper to be cancelled throughout in both directions to be honest.
alistairlees
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I believe they use duvets these days so, strictly speaking, no.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51425482
All above just so that I can ask if the “blanket speed restriction” will apply to the Sleeper
Qwerty133
Established Member
All services cancelled tonight due to the weather according to them on Twitter
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DelW
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Oh dear, a bit of a sense of humour failure in response to PaxVobiscum's post, only one out of four got the joke 
Giving people refunds or allowing them to travel later in the week is all well and good, but what are those people going to do in the meantime? Serco should be providing anyone who purchased a ticket hotel accommodation until they can get passengers to their destination.
TimboM
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Why should they?
Because it fosters a good feeling with passengers, which will encourage repeat business, something the sleeper desperately needs!
Highland37
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And given the terrible PR the service is getting from its own passengers, it would seem to be a good idea. The service is widely regarded as over priced and unreliable. It needs to change in its attitude to customers, or massively reduce prices.
Because that is exactly what a hotel in the category* to which CS compare themselves would do if they were not able to honour the booked room and also what airlines do (another comparison made by CS).
Obviously someone already at home would not need a hotel.
* and many at the cheaper end of the market
TimboM
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Really? You do know Sleeper bookings are up and notably higher than last year? Not sure they're in as desperate need of the PR as some on here like to think...
And I'm referring to the National Rail Conditions of Travel and/or their Guest Charter. Any requirement in there?
Terrible PR? Doesn't seem to be harming patronage that much... see above.
Passengers already pay less than half it costs for them to be on the train. How can that be "over-priced"?! Who should fund the massive reduction in prices you suggest? It's down to either Serco (who already lose millions running the franchise, so I'd count them out) or even more taxpayers' money to subsidise the service even further. Is that a fair use of such funds?
Don’t be silly, we both know the problems the Sleeper has, failures every other day, extremely poor seating etc etc...
Why should CS do any different from any other operator? Are LNER or Avanti providing hotels?
Avanti and LNER don’t run overnight services and don’t portray themselves as being a hotel on wheels.
alistairlees
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Whilst the service is clearly not perfect, TimboM is quite correct that bookings are much improved. It was even reported in the Scottish Parliament about a month ago!
Struner
Member
Just a thought:
Was on the €* when I got such message.
So yes, where should I go once I got to London?
Was on the €* when I got such message.
So yes, where should I go once I got to London?
No. Caledonian Sleeper find themselves in the fantastic position of being able to advertise their service as a luxury hotel on wheels, but when the crap hits the fan they can hide behind a piss poor set of conditions.
It really doesn't make any difference (whether it should or not is something for a speculative ideas thread). The sleeper is, when it comes to passenger rights in the event of disruption, just another train.
Sleepy
Established Member
As GWR do for their Sleeper, hotel & day train should be offered.
Hattie.smores7
On Moderation
The Caledonian Sleeper could run this evening as the WCML is now open all the way from London to Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Yes, but the falsehood of the point that some were making above, that they should go beyond the requirements of the conditions of travel, is what I was getting at.
Struner
Member
Thank you for pointing out the difference!