You'll also be surprised to learn that I'm getting good feedback - the underlying breakdown aside - from a couple of passengers aboard the very delayed Highlander.
Unlike the Ophelia night, no-one got turfed out of their beds. Anyone joining the train south of Aviemore was taxied to Waverley so they could get to bed in the Aberdeen section a good 90 minutes ahead of the Inverness portion arriving. Okay, they didn't go to sleep until 2am but given they could kip on until 10 then this wasn't a huge problem.
The Ophelia night comment has been raised once again though - if they can handle both Highlanders in Waverley at once at 430am, the ordinary passenger struggles to understand why they had to be evacuated at 3am a few weeks ago.
Anyway, there may be other people aboard who are extremely upset, but the regulars are pretty relaxed about it.
That's good to hear - a silver lining of sorts.
Regarding the two trains in Waverley at once - on the Ophelia night, the biggest issue/challenge was that with the northbound Highlander cancelled, the trains the southbound passengers were on had to be turned round and sent back North to be in the right place for the next night, using the booked locos, drivers, guards, paths etc. - and ensuring the staff were where they needed to be and had sufficient rest before their next shift.
Last night, the northbound portions were all running OK (ish) and the train they were on instead needed to get South to London, so there wasn't the issue of having to turf them off and get the stock back to the northern termini.
Also on the Ophelia night if they'd let them stay in the berths until a reasonable hour, aside from the logistical issues above, the 16 coaches plus 4 locos would have been sat in Waverley for a good couple of hours, encroaching on the start of the morning services, whereas last night they were both in together, but at c.4am with both being got on their way as soon as possible.
Hope that's an explanation of sorts...??
Do we know if passengers from the other two legs were allowed to change to the VTEC service at Edinburgh?
What is the standard procedure for the CS, do they knock on the cabins and tell people, or leave them to wake up at Carlisle when they are expecting to be at Rugby?
I'm not sure what was offered, but I doubt it if you think of the timings. The Aberdeen and Fort Bill sections arrived into Waverley at c.01:00-01:15. I doubt many passengers would appreciate being woken up at that time to be asked if they want waking up again at 5am to be turfed on the VTEC service (assuming ticket acceptance was even arranged). And then again, when 1S25 was formed up and finally ready to leave about 4am, I doubt many people would've appreciated being woken then in their warm berths to be given the option of going on the Virgin service and arriving late still (but a little less late).
The only ones who may have been offered an option were those on the Inverness, especially those bussed to Edinburgh from South of Aviemore, but even if they were I think getting into the berths and getting heads down for some decent sleep and a lie-in would be preferable for most as
@47271 has suggested.
Presumably it was sent back to avoid using 92028 after its (unspecified) issues going north the previous night where it is shown as losing time around Shap and the option was there to not risk it as well as going at 100mph?
