Caledonian Sleeper

[Crepello]

I'm a big fan of CS, its operators and staff. and generally have little patience for the naysayers. That said, am saddened to learn (from twitter) that the catering staff often refuse to continue service when trains are delayed.

I get that they've already worked a long shift... but they're in the hospitality business. If they're not motivated to go the extra mile... um, when the train isn't... then something systemic needs to change - and/or they need to be replaced by people with better attitudes.

 

[6Z09]

I'm a big fan of CS, its operators and staff. and generally have little patience for the naysayers. That said, am saddened to learn (from twitter) that the catering staff often refuse to continue service when trains are delayed.

I get that they've already worked a long shift... but they're in the hospitality business. If they're not motivated to go the extra mile... um, when the train isn't... then something systemic needs to change - and/or they need to be replaced by people with better attitudes.

Even workers in the hospitality business have rights and conditions!
Could it be that there is nothing to sell if train suffers long delay??

 

[BRX]

Also are they offered overtime pay in those circumstances or expected to work for free?

 

[Toast is nice]

I get that they've already worked a long shift... but they're in the hospitality business.

...and stop that nonsense about pretending to be some kind of magical hotel on wheels. I think we could all put up with the issues a little better if there wasn’t all this marketing rubbish. It is not a luxury experience. It is a pig with lipstick.

I travel the route about three or four times a month and more often than not there is some mechanical issue - typically plumbing - or short-staffing, although that less frequently now. In the last month I have had three times with complete lack of water in my room. If you are in room 1 you invariably have to put up with the sound of the phone in the crew room next door ringing incessantly but the rattling beneath you often acts as a useful antidote.

I have no problem with the people who work on this service - they are invariably courteous and helpful and I realise it cannot be much fun for them. And I get the fact that running a sleeper service is difficult and that you cannot remove all of the ‘single points of failure’ in the system, so things can go wrong. But just be honest about it on your website.

And (don’t worry, I am almost finished!) stick an update on the homepage of your site when you have problems like you used to in the old days. Some of us travel up from the Borders or East Lothian to get the southbound Lowlander and there is nothing more frustrating than getting to Waverley after a couple of hours’ journey to find that the service is delayed or cancelled and our journey could have been avoided if only you had put a notice on the website rather than your ambassadors(?) trying to phone up everyone individually. [BTW, this site is a godsend in that respect. Thank you all]

I hope that doesn’t come across as rude but it is frustrating paying a fortune for a service that all too frequently fails to deliver the experience it claims.

That’s better...

 

[ruaival]

I'm a big fan of CS, its operators and staff. and generally have little patience for the naysayers. That said, am saddened to learn (from twitter) that the catering staff often refuse to continue service when trains are delayed.

I get that they've already worked a long shift... but they're in the hospitality business. If they're not motivated to go the extra mile... um, when the train isn't... then something systemic needs to change - and/or they need to be replaced by people with better attitudes.

Recalling (from my year as the "mystery snoozer" on the Lowlander over a decade ago) the limited refreshments stock loaded at Edinburgh and Preston ... when our breakfast pickup was 3 hours delayed by a Cumbrian track-side fatality after leaving Carlisle ... there is not a lot that staff can do?

and the only other delay I reported to Transport Focus in the 52 trips was a "coaches and GNER ticket acceptance" when someone (apparently) lifted an extra bit of track near the Border without realising it was WCML

I do remember the crews both ways were always working hard to deliver the expected service; with many of us Sunday Southbound-ers working in Whitehall for the week.

 

[gingerheid]

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Well. Funny you should ask.

I will admit it was the best sleep ever. Dead smooth.

Though I could also have slept in until a fairly reasonable time and got the 0630, and been in the office earlier.

 

[Mike99]

and now the Southbound Highlander joins them ... I wonder if that is a first?
IM16 on Platform 3
View attachment 73406

Quoting form RTT, also from 03:38 until 04:40 1M16 was in platform 19 at Waverley and 1S25 with the three portions in platform 8 at Waverley

 

[alangla]

Hopefully that’s the February quota of major disruption used up already and everything goes smoothly for my northbound Highlander trip on Wednesday night...

Although I will be homeward bound, and have Thursday off work anyway so as long as the sleeper itself reaches Dundee, I’m good.

The Aberdeen bit seemed to go fine last night. Slight delay after Laurencekirk but not into refund territory. You’ll be looking forward to spending the morning in Ladybank loop then?

 

[Tormod]

Twitter feed says all services expected to run as timetabled tonight

 

[Tormod]

I see that 1S25 currently at Platform 15, instead of 1 as per usual

 

[Samuel88]

I’m travelling on the sleeper from Glasgow next week and these problems have got me worried. What happens if the service is cancelled? Do they organise alternative transport, or just leave you stranded?

 

[alistairlees]

I’m travelling on the sleeper from Glasgow next week and these problems have got me worried. What happens if the service is cancelled? Do they organise alternative transport, or just leave you stranded?

Alternatives are organised. Best not to worry. Most services operate fine. Only the services that don't get reported in this thread, resulting in a very one-sided view.

 

[Crepello]

Responses to my point about staff attitude were appreciated - to which I say:

Even workers in the hospitality business have rights and conditions!
- Why "even" - is hospitality inferior to other sectors? And why would they *not* have rights/conditions?

Could it be that there is nothing to sell if train suffers long delay??
- One example was where breakfast wasn't offered "to save time". Customers would be unimpressed to hear that - clearly it's not *their* time that's being "saved".

Also are they offered overtime pay in those circumstances or expected to work for free?
- Why would they be expected to work for free? Besides being unethical, wouldn't that be illegal?

[Staff] are invariably courteous and helpful.
- Agreed - and they've endured tough working over recent months, without a doubt. The marketing indeed appears to have oversold the product prematurely. But I'm confident it will become a luxury experience, once remaining kinks have been ironed out of the Mk 5 fleet. This week's motive power failures aren't the norm - almost all recent delays were caused by permanent way problems.

Comparable situation would be an airline flight that takes an enroute wx diversion but remains on the tarmac, lands at its destination 6 hours late. Cabin crew continue to be paid (here in US, they're making money from the minute the cabin door closes until it reopens - so they actually prefer not to de-plane pax) and typically comp all catering inventory that remains. It's called putting the customer first.

 

[marks87]

The Aberdeen bit seemed to go fine last night. Slight delay after Laurencekirk but not into refund territory. You’ll be looking forward to spending the morning in Ladybank loop then?

At least I'd be near home, and I'm sure I'd find something to amuse myself with.

Although even in the worst case scenario of it not running, it's a work trip - so if CS weren't to come up with a hotel and day train, I just need to make a phone call and something to that effect will magically happen with the tab sorted out somewhere. Not sure if I could wangle first class, though, which is what I'd expect from CS as a "Club" pass...sorry, guest...

Let's not ponder on what-ifs, though...!

 

[Dr Hoo]

I travel the route about three or four times a month and more often than not there is some mechanical issue - typically plumbing - or short-staffing, although that less frequently now. In the last month I have had three times with complete lack of water in my room. If you are in room 1 you invariably have to put up with the sound of the phone in the crew room next door ringing incessantly but the rattling beneath you often acts as a useful antidote.

I was quite intrigued by this comment. We haven't heard much about the 'phone in the crew room'. (I wasn't even aware that the Mark Vs had a 'crew room'.)
I was surprised that in these days of mobile/portable electronic devices that staff are apparently not issued with and use such things. One also assumes that the incessant calls are being attempted on matters of some operational or customer service importance (e.g. advising staff about leaky minibuses coming to rescue stranded passengers at Ardlui or wherever). How many of the problems that we read about on this thread are actually being exacerbated or extended by poor comms (or shortage of staff to field urgent calls)?
I haven't dared use attempt using the sleeper for several years after a total washout cancellation and am unfamiliar with current arrangements.
Can anyone throw any light on the situation?

 

[Toast is nice]

I was quite intrigued by this comment. We haven't heard much about the 'phone in the crew room'. (I wasn't even aware that the Mark Vs had a 'crew room'.

I don’t know the correct terminology but it’s the little room at the end of the carriage, next to cabin 1. You would struggle to swing a cat in it but I can certainly vouch for the presence of a phone...

 

[47271]

I was quite intrigued by this comment. We haven't heard much about the 'phone in the crew room'. (I wasn't even aware that the Mark Vs had a 'crew room'.)
I was surprised that in these days of mobile/portable electronic devices that staff are apparently not issued with and use such things. One also assumes that the incessant calls are being attempted on matters of some operational or customer service importance (e.g. advising staff about leaky minibuses coming to rescue stranded passengers at Ardlui or wherever). How many of the problems that we read about on this thread are actually being exacerbated or extended by poor comms (or shortage of staff to field urgent calls)?
I haven't dared use attempt using the sleeper for several years after a total washout cancellation and am unfamiliar with current arrangements.
Can anyone throw any light on the situation?

It isn't a phone. It's the alarm that goes off making an annoying brr brr noise in the pantry (or workspace, or grim hole, or whatever they call it now) when a passenger presses the cabin comms button. And then when they speak we can all hear it.

It's the equivalent of the beeping that you got when someone hit the 'attendant' button in the mk3s. But then the 'attendant' walked down the corridor and spoke to the individual passenger and only the nearest neighbours could hear it. That's progress.

There are far too many voices, beeps and brrs on the mk5s, especially in the lounges. And, to your point, none of them seem to be there to aid the situation when a leaky minibus might be required.

 

[Dr Hoo]

Right. Thanks. So it's nothing to do with an actual 'phone' then.

 

[gingerheid]

Right. Thanks. So it's nothing to do with an actual 'phone' then.

Merely something that rings, is answered, that conversations are held over, and that keeps the person in the next berth awake in exactly the same way as if it was a phone?

 

[alangla]

Just had a quick look and, at the moment, it seems everything is within half an hour of where it should be. Good recovery after yesterday.

 

[Far north 37]

Well it does have a 66 on the front doing the work for the 73 and the 66 is a lot more powerful so you'd expect it to make time.

The class 66s finished for the time being after sunday night.

 

[Struner]

But some people may say: “please keep them on stand by?”

 

[JonathanH]

But some people may say: “please keep them on stand by?”

They can say what they like. However, both 66707 and 66721 went back to Doncaster (and 66721 straight onto other work) on Monday so there aren't any 66s "on standby" now they have the full complement of 73s back in Scotland.

 

[marks87]

Out of interest, when the 73s work in multiple on the sleeper, do they couple together via the Dellners or the drawhook? Or does it not matter and you could easily see either?

 

[JohnMcL7]

Out of interest, when the 73s work in multiple on the sleeper, do they couple together via the Dellners or the drawhook? Or does it not matter and you could easily see either?

They've been using the Dellner couplers when I've looked:

 

[marks87]

Tonight’s my night on the northbound Highlander. Boarding was slightly late but nothing significant.

The en-suite in the club room makes it feel less cramped, even though it’s not really usable space.

One of the USB charging ports isn’t working.

There’s now just been a loud noise that sounded horribly like the room next door flushing their toilet. I hope they don’t need to go too often in the night...

Edit: hmmm...someone just managed to open my door from the outside despite it being firmly closed and locked. That’s...not good.

 

[marks87]

And the fire alarm has just gone off.

Delightful.

Edit: although I’m pretty sure I’m getting a faint whiff of cigarette smoke. So maybe it was a genuine alarm. And hopefully someone getting chucked off at Preston...

 

[Kendalian]

Just seen Paul Lucas' review of the Highlander

He wasn't impressed. No hot water, late running, breakfast not delivered....

 

[John Bishop]

CS boss publicly having a go at GBRF in the press today over the “unacceptable” loco issues affecting CS along with various passenger accounts of “journeys from hell” with lack of water, no flushing toilets, no heating, food issues and severe delays.

The CS reply of passengers getting a full refund really misses the point about repeat custom being lost as a result of the issues putting many people off from using the service again. But if a PR mountain to climb going forward.

 

[Far north 37]

CS boss publicly having a go at GBRF in the press today over the “unacceptable” loco issues affecting CS along with various passenger accounts of “journeys from hell” with lack of water, no flushing toilets, no heating, food issues and severe delays.

The CS reply of passengers getting a full refund really misses the point about repeat custom being lost as a result of the issues putting many people off from using the service again. But if a PR mountain to climb going forward.

Not sure what they hope to achieve publicly attacking gbrf like that the locomotives have been relatively trouble free for a while now are they just using last weekend as an opportunity to try cover there own basically shambolic running of the services with issues that go far deeper than loco reliability.