Sleeper train gets 100 million quid upgrade

Gneiss Boots wrote (see)

I think my expectations are a bit different. Clean, comfortable and affordable will do.

I've used it, but mainly for geting to London, rather than to the hills - an advantage of living just south of the Highland Boundary Fault, I guess.

It does look a bit tired, so a refit would be nice (and give us toiletries and breakfast again - they didn't in April, when I travelled without a toothbrush expecting to get one on board).

As to the time it takes - sleepers everywhere take ages, so that you (1) get enough time to have a reasonable sleep and (2) don't arrive at the destination at stupid o'clock - for instance the Edinburgh-London service leaves at 10pm so could, feasibly, arrive before 3am, but what's the point of that?  It's better to arrive at 7am/8am, get breakfast and be wherever you need to be in London at a civilised hour.  It's a sleeper; it's a relaxed way of travelling; there's sofas and a bar on board, and the bargain berths can be had for much less than £100 each way.

I've used it to get up to Inverness once. I enjoyed the experience but some of the others I was travelling with had real dificulty sleeping in a moving vehicle. It was far more pleasent than return journey taken on a daytime train.

One of the other reasons for the timetabling is to allow some extra time for overnightengineering leading to diversions and speed restrictions without endlessly changing the timetables.

Saga Lout wrote (see)

I've often thought about it but why is it so slow? and i can now fly from London City airport to Edinburgh or Dundee for just over £100 and it takes an hour and ten minutes.

Used to use it regularly over the Easter period:

Wed night: London to Bridge of  Orchy/Corrour/etc

Walk Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday

Monday night: back to London

Tuesday work

A 5 day hol for one day off work.

John Bailey wrote (see)

One of the other reasons for the timetabling is to allow some extra time for overnightengineering leading to diversions and speed restrictions without endlessly changing the timetables.

Fly to Dundee for £100 return?  Whenever I've looked it is over £200 return (perhaps you chose different dates) but anyway, if you fly, you've still got to get from Edinburgh/Dundee to your hills of choice, and the sleeper trains can get you to direct to eg Aviemore or Fort William.

If you fly, you either arrive the night before you want to be there and need to book a hotel, or you get up in the dark and arrive just in time for lunch - on the sleeper, you can have a leisurely trip to the station, and arrive at your destination in time for breakfast. It's a choice.

Has anyone on here used Stagecoach's sleeper coach service between London and Glasgow?

It seems the Dunee/London connection is currently subject to good offers, which with me in Dundee and my folks in Bexley is potentially rather more useful than the sleeper...

Pete.

I'm keeping an eye on the sleeper as I'm moving to London (should I become London Gentleman?). How do people find it? I was looking mostly at the London - Fort Bill and London - Aberdeen runs.

Damien ONeill wrote (see)

Has anyone on here used Stagecoach's sleeper coach service between London and Glasgow?

Not yet but may well give it a try in the spirng for a trip to Islay, means you can get the ealier ferry and get there while shops are open and with enough daylight to stretch your legs. Otherwise you're getting to the island in the dark. If anyone else has tried it I'd love feedback.

> others I was travelling with had real dificulty sleeping in a moving vehicle

I've not done the Caledonian sleeper, but I've taken the Snow Train sleeper to France a few times.  I find it much, much better than the misery of overnight Eurostar seats.  I can't sleep sitting up, so, even if I don't actually get a deep sleep on the sleeper, I feel much better rested simply lying down.

Going up to Scotland, I've used EasyJet from Luton to Glasgow or Inverness, and shared car hire at the destination end.  I might look at the sleeper to FW...

I would add that it is also exciting for kids, many of whom are a bit blasé about flying these days - when my son was 7 I took him to London on the sleeper and he was convinced I was kidding about beds on trains, until we got on . . . he did sleep in the end.  We still use it most years for the journey in one direction or the other. 

I shocked my work colleagues by sending him to school (almost) straight from the train a couple of years ago - it arrives in Dundee at c6:30, so we were home about 7am; I pointed out he had been in bed for the journey, and that's the time he usually gets up.  To him it was all part of the adventure.

I had to be in Cardiff for a conference earlier this week and looked at it. Departure around 11 pm from Dundee sounded fine, but the change-over at 5 am in Crewe didn't appeal! Opposite problem on the return.

Roos