How many hours connection time should I allow for Sleeper?

[johncrossley]

Suppose I want to catch the Sleeper from Euston at 2350? How many hours connection time should I allow for connections from SWR services from Guildford? I realise the normal connection time across London is 1 hour but if you miss the Sleeper there is no train until a day later, never mind the inconvenience, so extra precautions would seem sensible. Would I be put in a taxi if I miss the train, would I have to wait for the next day service, or would I have to wait for the next Sleeper?

 

[Kieran1990]

Suppose I want to catch the Sleeper from Euston at 2350? How many hours connection time should I allow for connections from SWR services from Guildford? I realise the normal connection time across London is 1 hour but if you miss the Sleeper there is no train until a day later, never mind the inconvenience, so extra precautions would seem sensible. Would I be put in a taxi if I miss the train, would I have to wait for the next day service, or would I have to wait for the next Sleeper?

WAT to EUS is 10 mins on the Northern Line.
If your booked on the 23:50 I would aim to leave GLD on a fast service to WAT around 21:15/21:30, arrival would be by 22:15 and then EUS for about 22:30 giving you plenty of time and allow for any disruption en route.

 

[HST43257]

WAT to EUS is 10 mins on the Northern Line.
If your booked on the 23:50 I would aim to leave GLD on a fast service to WAT around 21:15/21:30, arrival would be by 22:15 and then EUS for about 22:30 giving you plenty of time and allow for any disruption en route.

Agreed. 1 hour ish for nearly any last of the day sort of trains

 

[johncrossley]

Agreed. 1 hour ish for nearly any last of the day sort of trains

But that is no different to the usual cross London connection time?

 

[InOban]

WAT to EUS is 10 mins on the Northern Line.
If your booked on the 23:50 I would aim to leave GLD on a fast service to WAT around 21:15/21:30, arrival would be by 22:15 and then EUS for about 22:30 giving you plenty of time and allow for any disruption en route.

But the sleeper calls at Watford, although it may not be the most enchanting place to hang out.

 

[Bletchleyite]

But the sleeper calls at Watford, although it may not be the most enchanting place to hang out.

WAT is Waterloo. Watford Junction is not relevant to this journey (and is WFJ).

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 Dec 2021 ==

But that is no different to the usual cross London connection time?

There is no particular reason it needs to be, unless your journey is critical (i.e. would not be fulfilled by a night in a hotel and the first day train the next day) in which case you would be advised to leave longer as per your own judgement.

 

[johncrossley]

i.e. would not be fulfilled by a night in a hotel and the first day train the next day

Is that the alternative? Does LNER accept such passengers? What about a taxi?

 

[D6130]

What about a taxi?

What? A taxi from London to Glasgow or Edinburgh? (I very much doubt it!)....or a taxi from WAT to EUS? (which would probably be slower than taking the Tube).

 

[johncrossley]

What? A taxi from London to Glasgow or Edinburgh? (I very much doubt it!)

A taxi to Leeds would suffice, as you could still be in Edinburgh by about 9.

 

[alistairlees]

I’d recommend you aim to get to Euston for about 22.45. The sleeper should start boarding at about 23.00 or so. If you want to eat on it then you want to get early boarding. So you would need to be at Waterloo at about 22.15 to allow for walking to the tube, travelling on it to Euston, and then getting to the platform at Euston.

If you miss the sleeper you are going to have a lot of hassle getting alternative arrangements sorted. If you have any luck at all.

 

[D6130]

A taxi to Leeds would suffice, as you could still be in Edinburgh by about 9.

I would imagine that Caledonian Sleeper wouldn't entertain paying for a taxi to anywhere if you failed to arrive at Euston in time for your train due to issues beyond their control. If you were delayed by issues South of the river, I think you would have to contact SWR Customer Services - if there was anyone there at that time of night - and see if they would be prepared to cover the cost of (a) your cancelled sleeper journey, (b) a night in a hotel and (c) your new ticket from London to Scotland in the morning. TBH, as others have suggested on here, you would avoid an awful lot of hassle by leaving Guildford two-and-a-half to three hours before the sleeper departure time.

 

[cambsy]

When i have used the sleeper, on an ALR, If arriving into Euston,I leave 90 mins minimum, and Kings Cross etc, would leave 2 hours, just to be safe, though obviously on an ALR, one always has back up plans,but tough wood, i have never missed the sleeper yet.

 

[185143]

I'm sure I was on the sleeper once and a couple of people missed it at Euston. No idea what would have happened to them, though it would have been the Highlander.

 

[The Ham]

But the sleeper calls at Watford, although it may not be the most enchanting place to hang out.

From past experience (even if Watford was bring talked about as the start point), I would recommend that you probably want to start in London if the journey to get there isn't too long/costly.

I may have been unlucky but spending an extra hour at Reading whilst there was issues with a loco at Paddington (passengers at Paddington would have been in their cabins/at their seats whilst that happened) is almost certainly worth the extra effort/cost of going to London.

 

[BJames]

A taxi to Leeds would suffice, as you could still be in Edinburgh by about 9.

I can't see why they would do this if you were not there on time. Caledonian Sleeper have no control over SWR land/TfL services as others have mentioned.

I agree with post #2 (perhaps being overly cautious I would even consider leaving earlier if you are not doing anything else that day and worried about missing it!)

 

[johncrossley]

I can't see why they would do this if you were not there on time. Caledonian Sleeper have no control over SWR land/TfL services as others have mentioned.

SWR would be paying for the taxi.

 

[BJames]

SWR would be paying for the taxi.

Ah sorry, I misunderstood. Still, I suspect not worth the risk...

 

[johncrossley]

Ah sorry, I misunderstood. Still, I suspect not worth the risk...

Someone jumps in front of the train between Esher and Surbiton, you sit there for three hours and miss the Sleeper, even though you left Guildford three hours before the Sleeper leaves Euston. SWR would surely be liable.

 

[Caleb2010]

As the tickets are issued separately- there’s no through fares including the sleeper, SWR would only be liable for their part of your journey.

However if CS do check your story about the reason you missed your train (maybe when you realise you aren’t going to make it you contact them and keep them updated) they are more likely to aid you in some way, a refund, a transfer to the following days service!

Technically you’ve missed the train, there’s no obligation to get you anywhere! If it were the other way around and you missed the last Guildford service out of Waterloo, what do you think they’d do?

 

[alistairlees]

As the tickets are issued separately- there’s no through fares including the sleeper, SWR would only be liable for their part of your journey.

However if CS do check your story about the reason you missed your train (maybe when you realise you aren’t going to make it you contact them and keep them updated) they are more likely to aid you in some way, a refund, a transfer to the following days service!

Technically you’ve missed the train, there’s no obligation to get you anywhere! If it were the other way around and you missed the last Guildford service out of Waterloo, what do you think they’d do?

This is all incorrect, providing valid minimum interchange times are met. The National Rail Conditions of Travel specifically allow for split tickets (as well as through tickets) when claiming for Delay Repay.

 

[Starmill]

Technically you’ve missed the train, there’s no obligation to get you anywhere! If it were the other way around and you missed the last Guildford service out of Waterloo, what do you think they’d do?

In both cases, should there be no suitable train, the company who caused the delay is obliged to provide an alternative means of transport. You must of course be travelling on a valid itinerary and have already paid for your whole journey before boarding.

 

[Caleb2010]

If you arrive at say Leeds and depart Leeds on a split ticket I can understand it!

if you arrive at Waterloo on one ticket and depart Euston on a different one - is that not two separate journeys!

 

[Caleb2010]

Though I’ve just checked trainsplit and you’d be covered if you get the Guildford to London zones 1&2.



My apologies for the duff info!

I bow to superior knowledge- I left the ticket office in 2006, they were different times even then!!

 

[Failed Unit]

Is that the alternative? Does LNER accept such passengers? What about a taxi?

In the past yes. I have used the 0540 Edinburgh- London when travelling in the other direction following a cancellation.

 

[thaitransit]

Just allow the standard 2 hour minimum connection between long distance regional trains or if a metro service allow a minimum 60 minutes between the arrival of the metro train and the sleeper.

anything finer is asking for trouble especially when long distance trains can arrive more than an hour late!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Just allow the standard 2 hour minimum connection between long distance regional trains or if a metro service allow a minimum 60 minutes between the arrival of the metro train and the sleeper.

anything finer is asking for trouble especially when long distance trains can arrive more than an hour late!

There might be a country this applies to (Thailand or Australia, perhaps, based on your name or location?) but it is not how things are in the UK.

While it does happen, UK trains are very, very rarely an hour late. Most 1 hour or 2 hour Delay Repay claims are due to cancellations or missed connections on infrequent routes.

 

[thaitransit]

There might be a country this applies to (Thailand or Australia, perhaps, based on your name or location?) but it is not how things are in the UK.

While it does happen, UK trains are very, very rarely an hour late. Most 1 hour or 2 hour Delay Repay claims are due to cancellations or missed connections on infrequent routes.

I am in Queensland.

So you never get situations like:

failed freight trains blocking the line
derailed freight trains
storm damage
flooding
signal failure/points failure
overhead power failure.
train or locomotive breakdowns
trespasses/suicides
heat speed restrictions

any one of these will occur daily on some part of the Queensland rail network.

I doubt the UK network can avoid such situations

 

[Bletchleyite]

I am in Queensland.

So you never get situations like:

failed freight trains blocking the line
derailed freight trains
storm damage
flooding
signal failure/points failure
overhead power failure.
train or locomotive breakdowns
trespasses/suicides
heat speed restrictions

any one of these will occur daily on some part of the Queensland rail network.

I doubt the UK network can avoid such situations

Have you ever travelled on the UK railway network?

 

[Surreytraveller]

Just allow the standard 2 hour minimum connection between long distance regional trains or if a metro service allow a minimum 60 minutes between the arrival of the metro train and the sleeper.

anything finer is asking for trouble especially when long distance trains can arrive more than an hour late!

This is a UK rail forum. Each interchange station has its own connection times, which vary from something like three minutes up to about fifteen minutes, or the standard cross-London connection time is one hour.

 

[yorkie]

Just allow the standard 2 hour minimum connection between long distance regional trains or if a metro service allow a minimum 60 minutes between the arrival of the metro train and the sleeper.

anything finer is asking for trouble especially when long distance trains can arrive more than an hour late!

What kind of trouble? If it's a valid connection you will be given alternative transportation in the event of missing the connection, as well as being entitled to delay compensation.