Caledonian Sleeper priv fares

[Bagpus]

Hi, wondered if anyone can shed any light on PRIV fares on the Caledonian sleeper.

Since the sleeper services were taken back under Scottish Government operation from last June, it has no longer been possible to book sleeper berths using PRIV facilities over the phone with Caledonian sleeper direct, with the only way to make a booking being either using the Rail Staff Travel RSTL site or at a railway station ticket office.

I successfully made a PRIV booking for sleeper travel last Thursday but since then when trying to book a return trip on the RSTL site, it has not listed any PRIV fares.

At first I thought it might be the date in question had sold out so have tried various dates up to May all on dates showing plenty of availability for full fares on the Caledonian website, but none of the selected dates for any journey combination show PRIV fares.

I got in touch with RSTL who didn't seem to know and just replied saying the website only shows PRIV fares that are released by the TOC's, so I decided to contact Caledonian Sleeper direct who advised me that since the transfer back in house they no longer can see PRIV fares or check if any are available.

I've never known this to happen before and don't for a minute believe there are no PRIV fares on any of the dates I've checked, but it seems very odd that no PRIV fares are showing.

If any one knows how this might be resolved I'd be interested to hear, I wouldn't have thought they would have suddenly stopped selling PRIV fares or even be allowed to?

 

[MrJeeves]

There is a way to book (at least some) priv-rate Caledonian Sleeper tickets online. I'll drop you a message just in case someone reads this forum and shuts this method down.

 

[Wallsendmag]

The Priv booking horizon is much shorter than the public one, have a look at the info on the RSTL site

 

[Bagpus]

The Priv booking horizon is much shorter than the public one, have a look at the info on the RSTL site

I read all the info on the RSTL site, however there are no PRIV fares showing on any date between now and May.
I have also checked at 2 ticket offices (different TOC's) and they also cannot see any PRIV fares.
So it appears Caledonian Sleeper have removed all PRIV fares or there is a glitch somewhere in the system.
Not sure who else can advise as drawn a blank with RSTL & the live chat at Caledonian.

 

[bkhtele]

They do appear to be released randomly, depending on the date you could leave it a couple of days & try again. Alternately depending on the destination you could try a different destination eg aberdeen instead of inverness then use your priv from aberdeen to inverness for a daytime train connection.

 

[Somewhere]

I'm sure I read somewhere (RSTL website?) that you cannot book priv fares on the Caley Sleeper more than 12 weeks in advance
They're also quota controlled.
You can fill in a box if you book a berth supplement, although that way is more expensive

 

[Bagpus]

After doing some more digging and talking to somebody different on the live chat on the Caledonian Sleeper website, they have now advised me that PRIV fares and staff travel for their own staff has been suspended initially for 3 weeks when it will be assessed. After I pressed them for reasons for this they said it is due to health and safety and cracks having been found in some of the coaches.

 

[Haywain]

After I pressed them for reasons for this they said it is due to health and safety and cracks having been found in some of the coaches.

That suggests that there is a risk of capacity being limited and therefore they are prioritising full fare passengers, which is understandable.

 

[greatkingrat]

Is it still possible to buy a normal walkup priv-rate ticket and then a berth supplement on top?

 

[Lemmy99uk]

Is it still possible to buy a normal walkup priv-rate ticket and then a berth supplement on top?

I don’t see why not. The option to purchase a berth only ticket is still available on their booking engine.

The trouble is, you would be looking at around £150 for the room alone plus the priv fare.
For that kind off money I’d rather travel a day earlier and book myself a nice hotel for the night.

 

[Mag_seven]

After doing some more digging and talking to somebody different on the live chat on the Caledonian Sleeper website, they have now advised me that PRIV fares and staff travel for their own staff has been suspended initially for 3 weeks when it will be assessed. After I pressed them for reasons for this they said it is due to health and safety and cracks having been found in some of the coaches.

A news item dated 4th March has now been posted on the RSTL website which states:

This news item applies only to safeguarded staff who entered rail service on or before 31 March 1996 and hold a Staff Travel Card, or those non-safeguarded staff who hold the Rail Staff Leisure Card. This news item does not apply to those who hold the RST Online Leisure Card.

Caledonian Sleeper services are running with temporary restricted capacity. Due to the nature of Caledonian Sleeper, there is a finite number of rooms available. In the event of service disruption where the number of rooms operating is reduced, those already booked may be asked to move to alternate services / dates.

News

This page contains our important messages, most recent first.

www.raildeliverygroup.com

Make of that what you will!

 

[MrJeeves]

In the event of service disruption where the number of rooms operating is reduced, those already booked may be asked to move to alternate services / dates.

Right... And will they do fee-free refunds to let people change their connecting tickets too?

 

[OneOfThe48]

Right... And will they do fee-free refunds to let people change their connecting tickets too?

Is that asked to move or told to move I wonder?

And will the Caledonian Sleeper offer any form of compensation if hotel bookings etc can’t be refunded? I suspect not.