I very much doubt this sort of thing makes into the inbox of Stephen Flynn, who has a massive portfolio after the number of cabinet positions was reduced. It'll be buried in a performance report from Transport Scotland. There's no Railway Minister as there is in the Westminster government.
Like many operators, it goes through bad spells. But generally speaking it isn't that bad of an operation considering the ease with which their operations are disrupted, and the limited opportunities for recovery.
So 93% not cancelled as a started for ten. And then for the 7% cancelled, where were they cancelled? Was it just one portion of a leg or the whole London/destination leg. I reckon I have been on 50+ CS journeys in recent memory and was only cancelled once (and at a station less than 15mins from my destination) and haven't had many delays (all of which were easily mitigated). I have many more problems on other forms of transport - my primary alternative to the CS is British Airways and I have been delayed more on their service than the CS. And if I drive congestion or motorway closures are almost guaranteed these days.
Avanti for the period June 2026 to July 2026. A little worse than CS it seems.
www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk
I have never missed a meeting using the CS. Nor have I had any issues with sleeper quality (although clearly that is subjective).
The slack timings allow recovery from late running, but aren't much help if something goes wrong with the stock or locomotives where a daytime operator with a bigger fleet can substitute a set, add special stop order, or accommodate passengers on a later service.
I suppose this depends doesn't it. If the train fails in Corrour on the way south then you are probably a little stuck unless you fancy a midnight expedition. If it fails at Preston though, a little imagination and self action can see you hop across to the first day day train for a similar ETA. The CS must be viewed in the context of the broader rail eco-system.
Yes, there have, but everything still needs to be in the right place for that to happen, including staff on overtime. While stock can potentially be moved between London and the Central Belt, or the Central Belt and the Highland destinations, going the whole way in daytime is unlikely to be practical, not least given the stock also has to be cleaned and serviced internally.
Given that only last week he was pleased to announce a study into whether Scottish sleepers could be extended to European destinations (!), it may in fact be closer to his radar.
Sad but true. I love the CS and take it whenever I can, but if it goes wrong it goes very, very wrong. Low risk but high consequence.
1M16 southbound is running an hour late also. Another grim night on the beds!
on the other hand the lowlander arrived in Euston half an hour early, so you can't say it's universally bad!
In a sense that's the problem currently. Folk are rocking up with the reasonable expectation of getting what it says on the tin whereas the lottery of which particular service or services will be delayed and which will run normally on the night a passenger wishes to travel seems to be becoming a recurring feature at the moment. From realtime trains the Northbound Lowlander (1S26) seems to have commenced from Watford Junction (rather than Euston) at the ungodly hour of 0254 (161L). https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:C04572/2026-08-20/detailed
The cancellation reason also doesn't quite make sense.
A problem coupling the loco (or with the loco itself) at the London end would prevent hauling into Euston but if the Country end Loco was fine it could depart out of the Watford end of Wembley ICD.
I'm assuming it came "light from depot" once "something" had eventually been fixed, to take up service at Watford, outrageous as this may sound. The more interesting question probably is what were the implications for intending passengers from Euston.
I notice the Highlander left Euston at 23:47, I wonder if it waited for passengers for the 23:45 Lowlander which started from Watford Junction at 02:54. Glasgow passengers maybe then moved on from Edinburgh on a day service. I believe the Southbound 1M16 is brought back from Preston by the Highlander Northbound driver, so couldnt depart until a driver brake at Preston. Just my thoughts
Sounds likely. Reconciling booked accomodation with actual provision must have been fun.
