Caledonian sleeper

[orpine]

So, I was interested in taking a trip on the sleeper - london to glasgow - with a friend. Rather than bump an old topic I thought I'd start a new one.

A few things pop up:
- There seem to be just about no berths that aren't first class, and this is looking at the full 12 weeks in the future (mid to late October). Is this normal?

- I've found "bargin berth" tickets being available on the 20th Oct - £29 for one person. but if I enter two adults as the passenger count, the price goes up to £78. Is the second one really £49? The 21st exhibits the same phenomenon.

- How do you go about booking to ensure you both get the same cabin if you don't both book at the same time?

- I know that the berths are released Friday's for the next "week" - just how quickly do they sell out?

- What week period are they currently taking bookings to? The 24th October?

Thanks.

 

[RochdalePioneers]

When I bought my Bargain Berth tickets I was looking 12 weeks prior on the Friday morning. If I recall correctly the tickets released at 08:50, I bought a pair for £29, I rechecked at 10am out of curiosity and all BB tickets had gone. That was for a Wednesday in July from Edinburgh

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[yorkie]

There are not many Bargain Berths released; yes there is likely to be just one left at that tier.

 

[CallySleeper]

So, I was interested in taking a trip on the sleeper - london to glasgow - with a friend. Rather than bump an old topic I thought I'd start a new one.

A few things pop up:
- There seem to be just about no berths that aren't first class, and this is looking at the full 12 weeks in the future (mid to late October). Is this normal? Is the date of travel before 24/10/14? If so, see what is offered for the same trip say a week or two prior. If cheaper tickets are offered for that journey then it is possible that tickets for your date of travel haven't been released yet. Otherwise, it would indicate that cheaper tickets for that train i.e. bargain berth or advance fares have been sold out already.

- I've found "bargin berth" tickets being available on the 20th Oct - £29 for one person. but if I enter two adults as the passenger count, the price goes up to £78. Is the second one really £49? The 21st exhibits the same phenomenon. This would indicate there is only one £29 ticket left for sale. After these are sold out, the only bargain berth tickets available cost £49. There is only a limited quota of these tickets available at each price level.

- How do you go about booking to ensure you both get the same cabin if you don't both book at the same time? You can try your luck online and see if the second person is allocated the same cabin. The easiest method however is probably ScotRail telesales on 0330 303 0111 and specifying the same cabin. This is of course all dependant on whether the second berth has already been sold to a third person. Also, unfortunately bargain berth tickets can only be sold online however there's nothing to stop you ringing and asking if they will move your berth reservation. As a last resort, check in on the evening early and see if your host attendant is willing to move you around.

- I know that the berths are released Friday's for the next "week" - just how quickly do they sell out? If you mean bargain berth tickets, it would depend on which day you're travelling and where - i.e. how many are available in the first place.

- What week period are they currently taking bookings to? The 24th October? Yes.

 

[30907]

Bear in mind that you're looking at half term holidays which isn't the best time for bargain anything

 

[gord]

Me and my wife got 2 bargin berths to Inverness last October during half term. I remember having to book them in August on a Friday morning. I meant to get on the booking site at 9am to try and get Fort William tickets. However, I forgot and then suddenly remembered around midday that today was the day I was supposed to be booking sleeper tickets. After apologising to my wife and saying that we'll think about going elsewhere...she encouraged me to get online and have a look anyway and lo and behold...I found 2 £29 tickets to Inverness for the Tuesday during half term. Same cabin for both of us too. So we booked them, arranged a hire car (which meant that missing out on Fort William wouldn't be so bad!) and had a fantastic few days in the Highlands. Guess I got lucky though! Being a full time teacher at the time, that was the only week we could have gone. I'm a supply teacher now so more flexible to the urgency for bagging cheap tickets isn't as great anymore.

So my advice is, check anyway...even for a school holiday period!

 

[orpine]

Thanks for all the responses. Useful info.

Do we happen to know how many bargain berths are released for each day? (I guess it varies by day of the week). As in, is there any point planning for a Friday departure (any Friday) - do they exist for Fridays at all?
CallySleeper's reply implies it varies by day.

 

[CallySleeper]

Do we happen to know how many bargain berths are released for each day? (I guess it varies by day of the week). As in, is there any point planning for a Friday departure (any Friday) - do they exist for Fridays at all?

You could try trial and error, for example your £29/£49 post. However it's not possible to know how many BB tickets are available for each journey, but yes it does vary by day and journey. London - Fort William for example I think has one/two per night at most.

While the number of BB tickets available varies in this way you also have to consider when the train will be busiest - which is generally Friday and Sunday nights (especially northbound Friday/southbound Sunday). You can try and get cheap tickets for these days but understand that if there are any available then they will get sold very quickly. Therefore BB tickets are most commonly found on midweek trains, although appreciably this might not be convenient for your travel plans.

Slightly more expensive advance tickets are also available but under the same conditions as BB tickets.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Re: school holidays, remember that Scottish school term dates can be considerably different to those in England. Half term in Glasgow City for example is Monday 13th - Friday 17th October.

 

[orpine]

Thanks for the info. I guess I'll have to work from that. It doesn't help that the person I'm travelling with needs to give about 12 weeks notice for leave - so may have to book the leave before we know if the tickets are available!
Cheers!

 

[CallySleeper]

I'm sorry I can't be any more insightful, other than say you've probably got a better chance of securing cheaper tickets on midweek trains.

 

[Dave1954]

Could someone please tell me why 1S25 going north via the ECML ?
and will the south bound Sleeper be ECML too ? Also what will happen
to the passengers going north from say Crewe/Preston ?
Thank you all in advance ..... Dave1954

 

[Whistler40145]

1S25 diverted via ECML due to Watford Junction blockade (line shut). 1S26 also routed this way.

 

[Dave1954]

Thanks Tim of course I did read somewhere about Watford being blocked .
I had such a busy week last week I must have overlooked it .
So what will happen to the passenger due to being picked up at Crewe or Preston ? or is a case we cant sell you a ticket due to the sleeper is not
going north via ECML ? ........... Thanking you ... Dave 1954.

 

[CallySleeper]

Passengers from Watford/Crewe/Preston would have to make alternative arrangements. The sleeper was never timetabled to call here so sleeper tickets from these stations wouldn't be available.

 

[Dave1954]

Cheers Cally , I had a feeling I was answering my own question , easily done
regards dave1954

 

[orpine]

So, tickets booked, but I came across something of an anomaly:

London to Glasgow - On a weekday night.

Comparison:
1 adult - £39 for the sleeper (Bargain berth e-ticket).

2 adults - £98 for the sleeper. (so £59 for the second sleeper)

So I had an idea - what if I bought 2 tickets for 1 adult each.
We already know the first adult is £39.
The second adult? £49!
Subtotal: £88

So why was one ticket with 2 adults £10 more than two tickets each for one adult? Basically the exact same journey for the exact same number of people (2)!

Of course, now I have to phone scotrail to get both in the same berth and ensure they have the right names on the tickets ("lead passengers" and stuff).
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Anyone any thoughts on the pricing discrepancy described above?

Anyway, today I called scotrail to ensure both were in the same caibin, and after getting through their ... unpleasant ... phone system I was advised that they (scotrail telesales) can't move Bargain Berths around. I was given another number to call which I'll do tomorrow.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
So I tried calling the "Bargain berth" number today. The first time I got through quickly and was told the systems were down, call back later. I did so and after a 15minute wait was told that I had come through to the standard Scotrail line and they couldn't help me. But they could give me the number to Bargain Berths (the same phone number I'd just dialed!). :roll:

So they're now emailing the reservation people (because bargain berths don't have their own email either!). I wonder how they interact with anyone given their number doesn't work and they don't have email.