Caledonian Sleeper for two and railcards

[Kzk]

Hi,

Im looking to book the caledonian sleeper on the 22nd of December from Glasgow to Euston - ideally a berth. I'd then continue on to Waterloo then Poole on the morning of the 23rd.

I have a 16-25 railcard and my partner has a 26-30 railcard (which doesn't seem valid on the Caledonian Sleeper).

Looking at this combination on the website - the simplest option is to book for 2 which is 270 pounds for the cheapest berth (then book additional tickets to Poole). It seems like the railcard discount doesn't apply to this.

Reading on reddit - it looks like it might be possible to book 1 ticket with the 16-25 railcard for 133 pounds - and then pay a walk-on fee of 50 pounds.

See: https://old.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comm...ssible_to_sneak_a_guest_from_seat_to/lbqg8wi/

Would this work - or are there any other inventive ways to save money here?

Thanks in advance for the help

 

[Watershed]

I've never heard of the £50 walk-on fee before and I can't see it documented in any industry guidance. I therefore wouldn't rely on it as an option, unless you can get it confirmed in writing from Caledonian Sleeper's customer services.

Certainly I'm aware that onboard upgrades from a seat to a berth are possible subject to availability, but I would expect it to cost a lot more than £50 to discourage people from saving money by booking a seat and upgrading at the last moment.

It's frustrating that Caledonian Sleeper don't accept the 26-30 Railcard but in the absence of a confirmation of the £50 upgrade as alluded to above, the only option I can see that would guarantee you a berth together would be paying the undiscounted public fare.

 

[CyrusWuff]

Looking on BRFares, Berth Supplements between Glasgow and Euston are currently:

• Classic Solo: £155
• Classic Twin: £195
• Club Solo: £205
• Club Twin: £255

Berth supplements aren't available for Caledonian Doubles due to the very limited number in each portion of the train.

It's not possible to combine a Railcard-discounted ticket and an undiscounted one in the same room. You either need to book two Solo cabins or one undiscounted Twin.

 

[AlterEgo]

I wouldn't trust a deleted Redditor to tell me the sky was blue. £50 walk on fee not evidenced anywhere else, nobody has ever heard of it, plus even more farfetchedly they claim it also covers the fare to London from Glasgow. Not worthy of belief.

 

[Tetchytyke]

My best guess is that the £50 supplement referred to was charged to that person as they had booked a room for single occupancy and then turned up with a second person.

This would align with the room supplements, which are payable when a valid ticket is already held, where a twin room costs £40 more than a solo room, even though on the sleeper all rooms have two beds.

The room supplements are in addition to the cost of the travel ticket, though, so I would assume that any £50 supplement was in addition to the cost of travel. I'd also assume it was charged at the discretion of the on-board staff, who presumably also reserved the right to refuse travel for the second person.

Assuming you can buy the £50 supplement, you'd pay £133+£50+£138 (the 26-30 discounted anytime single fare), which is £321. So just buy the £270 room and save yourself the fuss.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 22 Aug 2025 ==

It's not possible to combine a Railcard-discounted ticket and an undiscounted one in the same room.

It's a bit naughty that the Sleeper website will let you book for 2 adults and 1 railcard.

The fare is £270 for that day, which is the same as with no railcard at all. But it looks like they're offering a railcard discount when they're not.

 

[greatkingrat]

Maybe an enterprising steward just pocketed the £50 to let the second person in!

 

[Watershed]

By way of an update, it appears someone put in a Freedom of Information request to Caledonian Sleeper asking for a copy of their onboard upgrade fees policy. The attached document was provided in response, which includes a table with the upgrade fees payable in different scenarios.

This shows that the correct "second person in room" fee would have been £90 if it was a Classic room (not en-suite) or £100 for a Club room (en-suite with breakfast included). Those prices assume the original room was booked without a Railcard.

If the room was booked with a 16-25, 26-30, Senior or Veterans Railcard then:

This upgrade is higher than a full price to account for the Railcard discount no longer applies.

If the room was booked with a Disabled Railcard then the normal upgrade fee applies, since Disabled Railcards cover the holder as well as a companion.

£50 would only be the correct fee for a member of staff to take a friend in a classic room. Perhaps it was processed that way as a gesture of goodwill in the case mentioned on Reddit - but as shown above, the correct fee would be £90/100 in most cases.