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This is certainly true of Northern guards and also of EMT guards on the Derwent Valley Line (who deal with the bizarre situation whereby Duffield and Belper are both Penalty Fares stations, but none of the other stations on the route are). On the Derwent Valley Line (my local line), this causes...

Unfortunately, it’s not too rare these days for one of the two lounge cars (or seated coaches) in a 16-car set to be out of use; I have noticed that Mk2 reliability is becoming a little more hit-and-miss these days, as is probably to be expected given their age (and the fact that some of the...

Out of interest, how did they go about sourcing replacement staff at short notice? I can’t imagine that there are many spare hosts/team leaders available at either end of the route? Normally each half set runs with three hosts (one for every two sleeping cars) and a team leader in the lounge...

This sounds entirely implausible (I happen to know a number of the Inverness-based crew personally) for many reasons. I wonder if such a fantasy has been invented by someone with an axe to grind against CS (for whatever reason), not least because on the one night this year that the Inverness...

Where from, just out of interest? I thought that 2nd June was the planned date for its introduction? April seems a bit soon, particularly on the Highlander...

That’s a very good idea if you’re on the northbound Highlander out of Euston, particularly on a Thursday or Friday night (or any night of the week in peak tourist season). Although you may not get your meal served to you until after departure (different crews work in different ways, but...

Presumably it's Class 90 hauled? That sounds like a bit of a hair raising ride, particularly if you're in a berth above the bogies...

If the sleeper arrives in Inverness between 30 and 59 minutes late, you'll get half the fare back, and if it arrives 60 or more minutes late, the full fare back (for your journey on the sleeper between London and Inverness), without question. Generally if you've got an advance ticket for a...

Whilst there's no excuse for rudeness from staff, the team leader in charge of the lounge is entitled to use his/her discretion when the lounge is busy, so as to ensure that as many people can get food/drink as possible. This could include restricting it to First Class customers entirely, or (as...

Further to this question, does anyone know what sort of changes are planned as regards catering on the new stock? Will the Club Car be a similar sort of set-up to the current lounge car, with modernised furniture and perhaps an enhanced menu, and will there still be a buffet for seated...

Will look and see if it still is on Tuesday :) You won't miss that red livery that's for sure :) I think 67013 has been quite a regular performer on the sleeper over the last couple of years; it seems to be one of the more reliable members of the fleet.

They still do have some impressively weathered EWS-liveried 67s for your enjoyment on the Inverness portion :) Sorry, couldn't resist. By the way, which 67 is working the Inverness portion at the moment (and likely to take me up to Inverness on Tuesday morning?)

I think Dumbarton Central has been a call for the Fort William portion of the Highland sleeper since September 2014 if my memory serves me correctly, when the stop at Westerton was removed and stops at Glasgow Queen Street Low Level and Dumbarton Central added. I think it's both a pick up call...

I was on the northbound Highlander on Friday 25th, and the Inverness and Fort William sections were both fully booked (although they're one coach down at the moment), and the Aberdeen about three quarters full or so. That's quite normal for a Friday night northbound Highlander, even at this time...

I've never used the Lowland train, but from my experience on the Inverness and Fort William routes, this rule is almost never enforced (although I think the on-train staff still can enforce it if the train is exceptionally busy). I can't say that I've ever been asked to show a ticket, or even...

Was that just in the seated coach or the whole train? If so, that would definitely have been a quiet one (although Wednesday nights in late January are probably not a busy time for any CS service).

I was on the Fort William portion on the morning of Saturday 26th and the evening of Sunday 27th, and it was just a single Class 73 (73969) both ways. The Fort William portion is down to load 4 at the moment (with just 2 sleeper coaches) for the low season (I think it'll be back to load 5 by the...

I did the Highlander northbound from Crewe to Fort William on a quiet Monday night back in September. The staff seemed very happy to serve me in the lounge and (perhaps surprisingly) every hot dish on the menu was available, although the train was only half full or so (Monday night is perhaps...

As a semi-regular user of the Highland sleeper (around once a month on average), I thought I might share some of my views. I use either the Inverness section or the Fort William section (as far as Spean Bridge) for walking holidays/visiting friends on Skye and in the Lochalsh area, and love...