Caledonian Sleeper

[185143]

There's a claim in a Facebook group (yes, I know...) from someone who seems to be a driver that tonight is the last day of Mk2/3 operation on the Fort William portion.

Is there any truth in this? There seems to be no availability whatsoever showing on the Fort William portion, even for seats between FTW-GLQ. This is going to cause me major problems next week if so...

 

[awsnews]

There's a claim in a Facebook group (yes, I know...) from someone who seems to be a driver that tonight is the last day of Mk2/3 operation on the Fort William portion.

Is there any truth in this? There seems to be no availability whatsoever showing on the Fort William portion, even for seats between FTW-GLQ. This is going to cause me major problems next week if so...

Obviously they can't change just the Fort William portion on it's own. A Mk5 set went North earlier this week which doesn't appear to have come back down and at the moment it doesn't appear to be scheduled to do so before the line is closed at the end of next week.

 

[47271]

They're on strike Sunday-Tuesday, and then the line's shut from the end of the week, so it looks like they've thrown in the towel for the period in between.

This all presupposes that the mk5s will be running on the Highlander when the line reopens.

 

[BRX]

How long is the line closure set to last?

 

[InOban]

Ten days.

 

[Terry Williams]

How long is the line closure set to last?

Buses replace trains between Crianlarich and Fort William from Saturday 5 to Friday 11 October

 

[185143]

Caledonian Sleeper have confirmed the Facebook rumours on their website.

No Fort William services will operate after tonight until after the blockade. That's my rail holiday ruined then.

 

[Struner]

Serco’s excuse just goes to show that they can’t be bothered.

 

[Kite159]

Serco’s excuse just goes to show that they can’t be bothered.

Maybe some of the coaches are running out of miles/time before needing a major exam

 

[InOban]

Buses replace trains between Crianlarich and Fort William from Saturday 5 to Friday 11 October

According to the ScotRail website, the closure continues until the Sunday 13th. It's possible of course that the northbound Sunday night train will operate.

 

[TimboM]

There's a claim in a Facebook group (yes, I know...) from someone who seems to be a driver that tonight is the last day of Mk2/3 operation on the Fort William portion.

Is there any truth in this? There seems to be no availability whatsoever showing on the Fort William portion, even for seats between FTW-GLQ. This is going to cause me major problems next week if so...

The fella in question is most definitely a GB driver and a regular on the WHL working the Sleeper amongst other things.

Serco’s excuse just goes to show that they can’t be bothered.

It's off season and down to two Sleepers on the FTW - someone on it the other night reported passenger numbers in the teens. Not really surprising they've deemed it not worth the cost/effort running in the circumstances.

 

[33017]

Caledonian Sleeper have confirmed the Facebook rumours on their website.

No Fort William services will operate after tonight until after the blockade. That's my rail holiday ruined then.

It’s not even going there tonight. Just turned-up for 1S25 at Euston to find Fort Bill portion diverted to Dundee for buses forward...

 

[leightonbd]

It’s not even going there tonight. Just turned-up for 1S25 at Euston to find Fort Bill portion diverted to Dundee for buses forward...

Might as well just get in your car from London. All the way to Dundee and then a really long hack across country ... why not Stirling or Perth - closer to the FTW route?

 

[Struner]

Maybe some of the coaches are running out of miles/time before needing a major exam

But not according to them? “Due to the imminent introduction of the Mark V vehicles”

 

[Struner]

It’s not even going there tonight. Just turned-up for 1S25 at Euston to find Fort Bill portion diverted to Dundee for buses forward...

I’m sorry for that

[…]
It's off season and down to two Sleepers on the FTW - someone on it the other night reported passenger numbers in the teens. Not really surprising they've deemed it not worth the cost/effort running in the circumstances.

Like I said, they can’t be bothered about their guests. Fawlty Towers on wheels.

 

[InOban]

Might as well just get in your car from London. All the way to Dundee and then a really long hack across country ... why not Stirling or Perth - closer to the FTW route?

Because the FW coaches will remain attached to the Aberdeen ones which don't go that way.

 

[MrEd]

The fella in question is most definitely a GB driver and a regular on the WHL working the Sleeper amongst other things.


It's off season and down to two Sleepers on the FTW - someone on it the other night reported passenger numbers in the teens. Not really surprising they've deemed it not worth the cost/effort running in the circumstances.

I’m not sure it’s down to two sleepers yet in terms of formation... it definitely seemed to have four sleepers still when it arrived in Fort William earlier this week. Last year (and the year before I think?), the pattern was 4 sleepers until the end of September, then 3 sleepers from 1 October until Hogmanay, then 2 sleepers in January, February and March, going back to 3 in early April and 4 in early May. Of course, loadings will vary from day to day (with Tuesday night southbound not known for being particularly busy at any time of year) but the FW sleeper is certainly (from my experience) busy enough on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights northbound (and Sunday and Monday nights southbound) in Oct/Nov these days to warrant 3 sleepers.

I’m not sure how many Mk5s the FW portion will have to begin with- presumably 3 as per the number of Mk3s in October last year? I can imagine that the new stock will spark a reasonable amount of interest in the sleeper so trains might be relatively busy for the time of year, for the first few weeks at least. I seem to remember that that was the case with the Lowlander in late April/May.

 

[alangla]

Might as well just get in your car from London. All the way to Dundee and then a really long hack across country ... why not Stirling or Perth - closer to the FTW route?

Probably not a huge amount in it from Perth Station to the A85 vs Dundee straight onto the riverside, A90, then M90 & A9 round Perth

 

[185143]

I’m sorry for that

Like I said, they can’t be bothered about their guests. Fawlty Towers on wheels.

That's the impression I'm getting.

I'm in a privileged position to be able to travel to Scotland on a Day Train at little expense, so am leaning heavily towards getting a refund from CS and doing that. I'm certainly not feeling the desire to be awake before 6AM to get out of my bed and sit on a bus for 3 hours. I'll sleep at home and travel the next day.

 

[JModulo]

Its always nice for a replacement room to be provided, in this instance my old room had no hot water, so now I've been moved to another room.... with no hot water.

 

[Chrism20]

I’m not sure it’s down to two sleepers yet in terms of formation... it definitely seemed to have four sleepers still when it arrived in Fort William earlier this week. Last year (and the year before I think?), the pattern was 4 sleepers until the end of September, then 3 sleepers from 1 October until Hogmanay, then 2 sleepers in January, February and March, going back to 3 in early April and 4 in early May. Of course, loadings will vary from day to day (with Tuesday night southbound not known for being particularly busy at any time of year) but the FW sleeper is certainly (from my experience) busy enough on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights northbound (and Sunday and Monday nights southbound) in Oct/Nov these days to warrant 3 sleepers.

I’m not sure how many Mk5s the FW portion will have to begin with- presumably 3 as per the number of Mk3s in October last year? I can imagine that the new stock will spark a reasonable amount of interest in the sleeper so trains might be relatively busy for the time of year, for the first few weeks at least. I seem to remember that that was the case with the Lowlander in late April/May.

There’s a video on Facebook of it approaching Fort William yesterday morning and it was still four sleepers.

 

[TimboM]

Planned move of old Sleeper stock to Long Marston via Bescot on Sunday night / Monday morning. Getting a batch off-lease before the month-end?

Sunday night:
3Z11 2310 Polmadie to Bescot Down Side
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/R50713/2019/09/29/advanced

[The loco then returns to Crewe on 0Z11 early hours Monday, with a move for it to run back to Polmadie as 0Z26 on Mon night.]

Monday:
5Z12 0520 Bescot Down Side to Long Marston GBRf
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/K03924/2019/09/30/advanced

 

[38Cto15E]

I think if I was booked on the CS to Fort William I would travel on the Inverness portion to get my zzzzz's in,then catch the 0900 Citylink coach to FTW, arrives at 1105.

 

[Peter Sarf]

Of course, one of the issues with the new stock has been the three way split required for the Highlander. The Lowlander only executes a two way split. Perhaps CS are getting practice in for never running the Fort William portion ever again ?.

 

[33017]

I think if I was booked on the CS to Fort William I would travel on the Inverness portion to get my zzzzz's in,then catch the 0900 Citylink coach to FTW, arrives at 1105.

As it happens, I was only booked to FTW as the other two portions were full. Worked fine for me as I was able to stay with the Aberdeen portion which was my first preference.

 

[MrEd]

Of course, one of the issues with the new stock has been the three way split required for the Highlander. The Lowlander only executes a two way split. Perhaps CS are getting practice in for never running the Fort William portion ever again ?.

If that is Serco’s intention, then I sincerely hope that they are stripped of the franchise pronto. If anything, the Aberdeen portion would probably be the one to do away with, as this has the least year-round demand of the three, although it would not be in any way acceptable for Serco to behave in this way in the light of the franchise agreement, and the fact that a reliable service needs to be maintained to all three destinations. Serco had better not be attempting any such tricks. I rather suspect that they are not. I rather suspect that a combination of the strike, engineering works, persistent staff shortages (affecting all portions of the Highlander) and the complexities of Mk5 testing/introduction has led Serco to take the decision to suspend the Fort William service until Mk5s are introduced on 14th October. Hardly ideal, but perhaps understandable in the circumstances, particularly as early October is a generally quiet time for the service.

I certainly think that diverting the Fort William passengers to Dundee is a particularly poor solution, though. I understand that Dundee is chosen because the Fort William and Aberdeen sections are not split; however, it really is taking Fort William passengers out of their way. Being turfed off at Dundee in the cold and dark at the crack of dawn to endure a 3-hour (at least) bus journey is not an attractive solution, and not one likely to endear the sleeper to tourists. I wonder whether (when there’s spare capacity) those headed to Fort William could probably be squeezed into the Inverness portion to be bussed from Kingussie, with those headed to places further south put on the Glasgow portion of the Lowlander for an onward connection from Glasgow at a sociable time. In fact, off-season, if Kingussie is not possible, would sending the FW passengers on the Lowlander to Glasgow for the 08.21 from Queen Street not be a bad idea?

 

[James James]

What's the supposed issue with the 3-way split, and why would it be any harder with dellner's vs buckeye?

 

[JModulo]

What's the supposed issue with the 3-way split, and why would it be any harder with dellner's vs buckeye?

There isn't, and if anything should be far easier.

 

[MrEd]

There isn't, and if anything should be far easier.

I seem to recall that when the Mk5s were introduced onto the Lowlander in April, there were initially delays caused (if I remember correctly) by the train management system failing to recognise that the portions had split (and joined) at Carstairs; folk are perhaps wondering whether the same issues might occur with the Highlander given the three-way split (and the fact that the Fort William portion has to be reformed with a new lounge and seated coach). But I’ve not heard of, or noticed, any reports of delays at Carstairs for this reason recently, so perhaps these issues have been ironed out and it won’t cause any difficulty with the Highlander split.

Is the general consensus that most of the teething problems with the Mk5s have been sorted out, or are a number of things still not as they should be? How reliably is the Lowlander working at present?

 

[BRX]

It'll be whatever the issues have been with the Lowlander, but multiplied.

For example the northbound lowlander involves one coaching stock split and one loco attachment. So, broadly, two opportunities for something not to work.

The Highlander northbound involves two coaching stock splits, one coaching stock attachment and three loco attachments. So, broadly, six opportunities for something not to work.

Of course if most of the bugs have been ironed out already on the lowlander, then it should be fine. We'll see. I'm sure it'll all be fine. What could possibly go wrong?