Schengen is the big one, unless you're only going to and from the same locations as Eurostar, you'd need to set up the infrastructure to check passengers before they board and keep them segregated from the domestic railway.
Yes, they are in a previous thread.
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If going only to Paris, the Class 92 already man the Caledonian Sleeper, so is up to UK standard, and the loco is up to LGV standards. The Mark 5 coaches are very likely up to EU standards. You could straight up reuse or get some new Mark 5 coaches.
Was that not instead so that a ‘red Eurostar’ set could be used on the French side removing the need to send a 400m train to Bourg St Maurice?
The only airline that would gain anything from that is British Airways.
92s don’t have KVB so can’t run on any of the French classic lines (apart from the immediate vicinity of Frethun which has/had AWS), which rules out operation into any of the Paris Termini as well as into St Pancras. Any sleeper using 92s would have to use Stratford International as the London terminus (or come from the North of England or even Scotland) and either CDG or Marne la Vallee as the Paris terminus in order stay off lines that require KVB.
Both probably, cost and that, I don't really know
Actually didn't realize that,
Or change locos over at Calais-Frethun.
I was thinking more on the lines that it would allow Eurostar to use the 374 elsewhere rather than there being any practical issue with having 400m sets down there.
I don't think there are electric TVM locos in SNCF fleet, but I could be wrong
Are you certain of that? The Caledonian Sleeper is booked out months in advance in most classes of travel, and the fares charged in most cases are very steep.
Of course, there is no way for a private firm to start that kind of service, but a state railway maybe.
You could fit AWS to the connection to the classic Frethun platforms if you really needed to. Or grant a temporary dispensation, or change locos using the existing Frethun exchange sidings. However this is very much a sideshow to the point @Bald Rick mentioned.
Yes, you'd be charging twice as much as CS's most expensive ticket for the cheapest international sleeper ticket, because the costs of operating trains into the Channel Tunnel and across the border are vastly greater than those associated with running a domestic operation (and CS still loses money). You can fly and get an airport hotel for a lot less in the overwhelming majority of cases.
If anything, it'd be easier for a private firm to do it because very few government would countenance such an ineffective use of public money.
If the 92s are to be retrofitted with ETCS, that might be an opportunity to also configure the equipment to emulate KVB. I believe an ETCS eurobalise reader can also interrogate KVB balises using the same carrier frequency, but a different message protocol. Suitable onboard emulation software could be provided for the EVC and DMI.
Aren't there a few BB 22200s fitted with TVM for maintenance?
Indeed, from Wikipedia, 8 are equipped with TVM
Why does any sleeper have to start in the UK at all? It is quite straightforward to plan around evening departures from London around 7pm, that connect into European sleepers from Paris or Brussels around 10pm. No need to do anything with messing around with border staff. No need for special rolling stock. No need for the extra costs of low density rolling stock on routes with high access charges.
No sleeper would be able to depart from Paris Nord without a massive roundabout through the LGV Interconnexion, making it quite a bit unappealing since you still need to cross-Paris change.
Tbh, at 2h journey time to Brussels a 9pm departure for a 11.30pm sleeper from Brussels would be very reasonable. Key there is to get tickets aligned and robust disruption protocols.
Absolutely.
The change of stations in Paris was the big drawback, especially as the French don't know how to do breakfast.
As a French, let me tell you that breakfast is better had with just a coffee and a pastry in a good bakery like there are many in Paris but that's off-topic. Just eat it on the train.
Where are you looking to go with a start at 11:30pm? A sleeper is mostly useful if you arrive at your destination before 10am
Because I was working on a 6.30 dinner, 8pm checking, 9am departure, etc.
No, I meant what kind of service would you run with a departure at 11:30pm, genuinely curious
It’s complicated enough trying to get the EVC and TVM430 - which are different bits of hardware - to talk. Modifying or replacing the EVC software is another ballpark altogether.
Somewhere a Sleeper travelling at around 120kph average would reach about 7.30-8.00 the next morning. Plenty of potential destinations as London won't be the only traffic source.
