Nobody wanted to share!
If travelling alone you would have no control over who else was booked into your compartment. Spending a night (hopefully) comatose, partially unclothed, in a small enclosed space with a complete stranger is rather different to a train stopping at stations other than your destination. Like others, I would not now travel by sleeper, ever, if it meant enforced sharing.
I had to request a different cabin years ago, when the occupant was absolutely reeking of body odour. There was no-way I was sharing with them.
There was a right stooshie with regards to Self ID.
Absolutely. It's good reason berth sharing will never be back in the UK at least.
Absolutely. It's good reason berth sharing will never be back in the UK at least.
The fact the storage isn't as good is another good reason.
I had no issues in my younger days, but as I'm getting older, I appreciate my own space.
My company will still pay for the sleeper, which was great when the kids were young, avoiding nights away, but these days I'll take the day train and a hotel, which often works out cheaper.
The majority of London trips, I'll take the train, as I prefer to work on the train for a bit. I do like the flights in to London City though.
I have never shared a sleeping berth with anyone other than my wife, but I have in the past shared couchettes on the continent with complete strangers, although the idea no longer appeals to me as I've got older. It's a shame that the newly-revamped French overnight services only feature couchette accommodation. Ironically, my most horrendous sleeper journey in this country was my one and only trip in a, then new, mark 3 sleeper from Euston to Glasgow in the Summer of 1983. I was told by the steward on boarding that I would have the cabin to myself for the entire journey (hooray!), but what neither he nor I could have foreseen was the fact that the woman in the adjacent cabin - through the wall next to my bed - was evidently a very heavy smoker and as soon as she lay down in her bed she commenced an all-night session of heavy and continuous bronchial coughing spasms. Having reached Carlisle without a wink of sleep, I was tempted to ask the attendant to call for an ambulance, as at one point I thought she was dying. On arrival at Glasgow Central (via the G&SW) the first thing she did on stepping onto the platform was to light a cigarette and give me a broad smile. Grrrrrr!
I have never shared a sleeping berth with anyone other than my wife, but I have in the past shared couchettes on the continent with complete strangers, although the idea no longer appeals to me as I've got older. It's a shame that the newly-revamped French overnight services only feature couchette accommodation. Ironically, my most horrendous sleeper journey in this country was my one and only trip in a, then new, mark 3 sleeper from Euston to Glasgow in the Summer of 1983. I was told by the steward on boarding that I would have the cabin to myself for the entire journey (hooray!), but what neither he nor I could have foreseen was the fact that the woman in the adjacent cabin - through the wall next to my bed - was evidently a very heavy smoker and as soon as she lay down in her bed she commenced an all-night session of heavy and continuous bronchial coughing spasms. Having reached Carlisle without a wink of sleep, I was tempted to ask the attendant to call for an ambulance, as at one point I thought she was dying. On arrival at Glasgow Central (via the G&SW) the first thing she did on stepping onto the platform was to light a cigarette and give me a broad smile. Grrrrrr!
The decision to end sharing had already been made by then.
No, IIRC the mark 3 sleepers were non-smoking from new....and possibly smoking may have been banned in mark 1 sleepers following the 1978 Taunton fire - even though that was not actually the cause of the fire. However, as always, I am open to correction from those more knowledgeable than me.
Very much an age thing, appreciating your own space!
On the new stock, most definitely, the report and comment from CS says that. The end to sharing was brought in on the old stock though.
Any time I travelled overnight abroad, only in Western Europe, the couchettes were mixed, the sleepers were single sex.
Yeah, likewise. I'd far rather have as much control over my space and privacy as possible. It's the unpredictability of sharing that makes me uncomfortable.
The last place you could on trains in the UK.
Exactly. Which is what the budget traveller has as an option.
You had 100% control. If you wanted the cabin to yourself, you booked a solo cabin. If you were happy with sharing with a stranger, you booked a shared cabin for a lower price and sometimes you got lucky and had it to yourself. There was never any 'enforced sharing'.