After watching all you TH-camrs doing sleeper train videos I decided to try two of them. I took the Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle for 44 hours, which was a pretty fun trip, and the Caledonian Sleeper from Inverness to London. I would like to be able to comment on the journey but I fell asleep 10 minutes after we started out and didn't wake up until it was time for breakfast. Best night's sleep I ever had.
I've used the Caledonian sleeper a few times now and I've got to say that whilst I love the colour scheme and interior design of the Mk5 coaches I can't see myself using them again. My first time on the Caledonian sleeper was on one if the old Mk3s and was one of the best journeys I've ever taken. Since then I've used the Mk5s in the seated coach as a last minute option for a trip from London to Glasgow which wasn't great. The seat wasn't as comfortable as the old sets and didn't have as much recline but wasn't the worst seat in the world and was roomy enough. The air con was stuck on though making it freezing and the lights were left in full brightness all night. My second experience was in a standard room with a friend, a little tight but fine for one night... But an issue with the kitchens meant there was no food service. Most recently I've travelled solo in a club room when traveling for work and was told i'd been moved to a different room before boarding because my initial room had no hot water. The new room has the top bunk down though despite being for single occupancy making it feel very claustrophobic. When I asked for that top bunk you be folded away I was told that couldn't be done by staff on the train, only by the depot. It's such a shame that the UK's premier sleeper service is so fundamentally broken. I'd love to see more sleeper trains in the UK including perhaps an ECML service to provide East Anglia, the East Midlands and Yorkshire with an overnight connection to Scotland and a cross-country overnight service from Glasgow and Edinburgh Down the ECML to York and Leeds and then down the MML to cover Sheffield, The East Midlands and then down to the South Coast/SouthWest.
I used to take the Cali Sleeper from Edinburgh down to London when I lived in the UK, must be almost 15 years ago now. I really loved the experience as it was simple for me who lived in Stirling at the time. Scotrail to Edinburgh, dinner and a few drinks down the pub with some mates, get on the sleeper and when you woke up you were in London. Coaches were older but in pretty good nick, beds very comfortable. With a young persons rail card I remember the prices being excellent (especially considering the price of a London breakfast and airport transfers). Would love to travel on the service again.
I did the trip once prior to all the modernisation. I'm guessing health and safety has since ruined it, but back then the doors at either end of the carriage had slide down windows. So you could go up to the front of the train behind the loco and get the mountain air as the train climbed up the highlands. Was magical.
I've never been on a sleeper train, but I did go up to fort william from glasgow for a trip this autumn and seeing the sleeper trains up close was incredible, would love to travel using one
Done the Inverness to Euston sleeper service 3 days ago. Joined train 45 mins before departure and the single room was well presented and clean.. Bed was very comfortable and was asleep before departure and slept solidly for about 9 hours and arrived in Euston 5 mins early. Would definitely recommend without hesitation.
Living in Inverness, the vast bulk of people here just get the EasyJet flight to either Gatwick, Luton or Bristol from Inverness Airport, It’s so quick and cheap, the Caledonian Sleeper just so eye watering experience and locals just look at it as a tourist train,or for people with money, such as our local MPs!
Travelled the night of the 30th Jan 2024. Great journey, great sleep and was absolutely wonderful to have the loo and shower in my cabin. Like yourself I could not fault the staff from Euston to Fort William, friendly, helpful and very very professional. Breakfast was amazing. I meant to eat when I boarded but fell asleep on the bed.
My favourite railway journey in Britain, but only just beats the other highland journeys. Thanks for this j Video. I had planned to go this week getting off at Rannoch and was afraid the train to Glasgow would depart before passengers could alight and cross over.
I did this trip myself, latest one year ago. The comfort is pretty OK up to Helensburgh Upper. After that, the tracks are not welded anymore. The carriages are prone to very much track noise, especially if you have a sleeping compartment above the bogies in the ends of the carriage. Pricewise, this trip is very expensive. Their haggis, neeps and tatties was the best though.
If only Siemens has made the sleepers.....the ride quality on one of their class 450s or 350s etc is serene.That cannot be said of the Mk 5 sleepers. I agree entirely, the ride is horrendous.but people who don't use trains regularly don't realise it.
I have done the Caledonian Sleeper to Fort William and back again. Both times I thoroughly enjoyed it and I got a decent night's sleep. The views were spectacular in Scotland and I couldn't fault the trip. Except for the food. On the way up to Scotland there was very little to eat in the club car and had I known beforehand there were issues I wouldn't have went used the club car. Though the breakfast going through Scotland was lovely, going back I wasn't impressed. I had clearly marked on my breakfast card that I wanted my breakfast to be had in the club car. When I arrived at the club car I was told I was to have my breakfast in my cabin and I got chased out. I was not impressed by that. Other than that I enjoyed my trip and would do it again.
Great video. As a city slicker, I always wonder if the people in the remote parts realize they're living in paradise. Sure, no convenience store around the corner, but I'll take that any day.
4.20 have they removed the parts of the antler livery that very annoyingly used to block the views from certain cabin windows ? Great news and long overdue if so.
We had no shower head and no water. Also on a design note it is very hard to get into and out of the top bunk as the distance from bunk to ceiling is not great. Also try and get a cabin that is in the middle of the coach not over the bogies. We got £200 back between two of us.
I haven’t been on the sleeper although it is at the top of my bucket list but I have been on the Jacobite….and it was fantastic!! The views are stunning with the highlight being the Glenfinnan Viaduct. The good thing was that you sat in the same seat on both directions so you got to see the views from both sides of the train
Travelled on the fort William and Inverness sleeper some years ago with the b r mk 2/3 carrages was a great experience haven't travelled on the new stock yet travelled on the night Riviera in may to Penzance was a great trip 😊
Great video - thanks! I took this service (Euston - Ft William) for the first time the other day. I thought the ladder and top bunk were very frustrating as they serve zero purpose when the cabin is single occupancy. I much prefer the way the Night Riviera moves them. It was cold when I traveled so I didn't pay much attention to the AC. I did notice the temperature fluctuating throughout the night, though. Breakfast in the club car was by far the best part. If only pictures could do the views justice.
Just returned from Edinburgh after taking the sleeper train there. Absolutely wonderful and totally agree with you about the fantastic. We booked the double which was pricey but personally justified as this did more for me than a week in the sun lol. We're going to experience the Fort William journey next so there's enough time to sleep and enjoy the train journey. A great video, thank you. Will be looking at our Fort William experience soon. Cheers. Matt
Took the Caledonian for the first time in June, 4 days before Serco passed the franchise if I remember correctly. Was hoping for a good sleeper experience on the lowlander, hopefully at least holding a candle to Amtrak bedrooms I’ve been in before. I got some of the worst sleep in my life, and when I got back to London, I was only out til about 11 in the morning before having to go back and take a nap in the hotel. Ride quality was horrendous to the point it ruined my sleep. Not surprised the A/C didn’t work on your journey…
Living in Northern Ireland, I used the sleeper from Stranraer to Euston Station and back quite a few times in connection with my job in the late 1980s, cost wise it worked out about the same as business class flight, but it was a much nicer and less stressful way to arrive at a morning meeting in London. I always got a good sleep, except for an occasional disturbance at Carlisle, where I think a coach was added.
The scenery looked really nice on the Highlands journey,,weighing up cost for a daytime train return fair with breakfast isn't so severe sounding if you add in what would be 2 nights at a hotel cost.
£188 is decent given a single from EUS to FTW is around £120 with a railcard on average. Then add in a hotel in London or one in Fort William which both average around £70-100 and you will quickly realise the sleeper is the cheaper option
Probably won't operate tonight due to Storm Babet!I always thought that the BR ones were Mark 3 and before that Mark 1.There were no dedicated Mark 2 or 4 sleeping wagons although they could be attached as seated coach but Mark 4 has never been.Probably the new Mark 5 stock doesn't allow other coach marks to be attached?I think that the Mk 5 is locomotive fussy too and the Class 90 isn't compatible.I don't know if 67's are still used if indeed they are compatible.Of course any locomotive could pull it but it's the powering up of the passenger parts.
Please do a review onboard the RENFE AVE S102 Talgo pato and the Alvia S730 from Madrid to Extremadura. Good video, I am subscribed to your channel. Happy New year
I'm glad you start this film with the words, "This is a luxury product," as the luxury holiday and business-type travellers are the only ones that it now caters for, thanks to the early decision to omit any cheaper, couchette-type accommodation in its design; the general lack of special offers and the exhorbitant fares it charges. Yes, they might compensate you if you go to the trouble of complaining about that rough riding quality or any of the other increasingly notorious imperfections of the Mk 5 sleeping cars; but even the £139 that you ended up paying (including your paltry 10% railcard discount - which itself is at odds with the rest of the rail industry, which generally offers 34% - and your £50 compensation), is right up at the higher end of what most ordinary people could afford to pay - especially when you consider that is just for one direction of what I imagine for most will be a return trip! The operator tries to justify their high fares with the explanation that they are comparable with the three or four-star hotels that business travellers might otherwise stay at in London or Edinburgh, were they to use daytime services instead - but that tells us all we need to know, doesn't it? They might as well just put up a page on their booking website to advise those of us who are obliged to use the budget end of the accommodation market, that the sleeper is not intended for us... Rather, it is intended for those who can either afford it themselves or who are travelling on business expenses... Neither do their trains offer any cheaper alternatives - and their seating coaches are like a form of medieval torture, especially when compared to the reclining, roomy, soft, downgraded first-class day coaches with main lights that were dimmed for most of the journey, as were the standard offering on the previous, Mk III sleeper services... Much as I don't enjoy the seated sleeper much anyway, I would have at least considered it a potential travel option were it not the brightly-lit, inflexible metal-framed rack of ironing boards that require a great deal more intimacy if you're sat next to a stranger than any that you might experienced in a shared sleeper cabin. There is also the small matter of the absent all-night buffet service that was made available through a hatch at the end of the carriage in the Mk III trains. The inclusion of pod-type seating and/or couchette-type accommodation was considered in the early days of the development of the Mk 5 sleeper trains that are now in use. This would have offerred a cheaper alternative to an actual sleeping berth that would have allowed passengers to at least stretch out during their long, overnight journeys - the fares for which would presumably be somewhere between that for an upright ironing board in the seated coach; and exclusive use of a 2-berth cabin - let's say, somewhere between £120 - £150, before railcard discounts. No doubt these would have been within the potential of most ordinary people; but they were dropped in favour of the present offering, given that the 16-coach length of the core section between London and Carstairs or Edinburgh is the maximum permitted on Network Rail; and they didn't want to have to run a third overnight train.... But why not, I ask you? The three parts of the Highland Sleeper to the north of Edinburgh could easily haul another two or three coaches of such accommodation - hence a 12-car maximum train that gets there first so that it can be marshalled onto the others as required, is all that's needed - to cater for the rest of the population - most of whom probably now avail themselves of flights between the London airports and Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Aberdeen or maybe even Dundee airports! Or on the grounds that the seats on the seated coaches are now even less comfortable than those on the many through coach services - just use those instead and be done with! It doesn't matter which way you look at it. Caledonian Sleepers as they arte presently configured, aren't only a luxury product - they are an exclusive product aimed at the rich; with deliberate efforts made to exclude most of the ordinary people of the UK. They are a discredit to our nation and in my view, really shouldn't be encouraged by our hard-earned custom.
A fair "warts and all" video I think. I haven't travelled on the new coaches yet, but am planning to next summer.(Covid got in the way) However I have travelled on the old coaches to Fort William, Inverness and Glasgow. I've also done the Night Riviera. Pricing seems to have gone up a lot since i last travelled, but then so has everything. Thoughts on value proposition, the lowland sleeper really doesn't stack up, unless you have to be in Glasgow or Edinburgh very early, or are leaving very late, then the regular daytime trains are quick and cheap enough. (Especially Lumo to Edinburgh). I travel quite regularly to Mallaig, and for this journey needing to be there mid afternoon the sleeper wins hands down, and did particularly so when I was still working . To travel via Glasgow I would lose at least half a working day travelling to Glasgow, pay for a night in a hotel, then have quite an early 5 hr +train ride on West Highland line next morning, (which is worth doing once). With the Sleeper I could do a normal days work, have a bite to eat earlier in the evening and then hop on the sleeper. After a good nights sleep, arrive in FW , cross the platform and hop on either the Jacobite or the midday Scotrail service to Mallaig. Cost wise the Sleeper might work out about £20-30 more expensive overall, but so much more comfortable and relaxing, so I think it pays for itself. I find sleeping on the trains fine, except if you start in a carriage right next to the Loco. The service always was ok but looks better now, service on the Night Riveria is also good, coaches are a bit more old fashioned, but very comfortable. The Jacobite is a nice experience, it stops for a break at Glenfinnan, but as you found out it can get very busy which does detract a bit. Scenery wise you get the same on Scotrail at a fraction of the price. Now that I have lots more holiday time I am looking to try some of the European sleeper trains as well.
Nice. It is quite surprising that a 13-hour train ride seems quite a deal within the UK. This is normal for all overnight services in India and there are top premium trains like Rajdhani covering distances which would end up spending 24 hours in a train. A train which runs from the southernmost point of India to the Northernmost takes around 3 days.
I caught it from fort William Recently . My club solo room also had the top bunk up and locked in place . The conductor said they are permanently left locked , which crowds out the room
A couple of weeks ago I stayed in the Signal Box at Corrour for a couple of nights, very popular with rail enthusiasts, and watched the Caledonian Sleeper come and go a few times. I did also get to travel on the Jacobite from Mallaig to Fort William one way much to my very pleasant surprise, as like you, when I was looking to book in advance, which would have to be a return, it was fully booked. But… it was a question of ‘if you don’t ask you don’t get’! I was ready at Mallaig to watch it come and go and then get my ScotRail train to Corrour but, as I say, it was possible to gain a little local knowledge which is not mentioned on the website 😉. My trip, sadly, did not include travelling on the Caledonian Sleeper but did include running the Loch Ness Marathon and circling Scotland by rail (with the bus and ferry on Sky).
Its a beautiful route and i really need to do it again. Only problem is since moving from a 16-25 railcard to a 26-30 one Caledionan Sleeper dont accept the 26 - 30 railcard so i go less often now
I found the Caledonian sleeper totally failed to live up to the publicity. I was in the front Inverness portion train and nobody came to check my ticket until we started. I then made my way to the club car to find but despite my supposing clubroom priority all the breakfast slots work on for the following morning. Fortunately I already eaten as I wouldn't have been able to get an evening meal there either. Compared with an Amtrak full sleeper compartment the facilities, particularly the shower, were a complete joke. Although I had a single the upper berth and the latter were locked in place with the ladder exactly position to provide the maximum obstruction getting in and out of the lower berth. A foot in either direction be much easier to get round it. Supposedly the latest thing in sleeping cars the ride was juddery and wheels excessively noisy when the train got up speed rising to an ear shattering scream when you went through the corridor connections. The LNER Azuma I came south on was by comparison fantastically quiet and smooth. Also once the dribble of a shower had been used the water failed to drain away properly and the floor remained wet the rest of the trip. However I will say the bed was very comfortable. Also in the sleeper lounge at 8 o'clock I was approached by a member of staff who gave me a priority boarding sticker and told me to go to platform one which was where the late-night departure to Edinburgh and Glasgow left and mine was actually at platform 13. Also there was no priority boarding, we all just queued up at the gate and got treated the same. So nothing absolutely terrible apart from the noisy wheels and ridiculous shower but a long way below what I experienced in sleepers in America or Scandinavia. So what was to have been the highlight of my trip was a big disappointment.
The Amtrak sleepers are brilliant, but it's not a fair comparison. They're also enormous. Completely agree on the ladder. It's infuriating and would be so easy to put it at one end or make it detachable.
I experienced very little comfort or sleep in my club twin room round trip to/from London and Inverness. The noise and shaking was very loud and uncomfortable. The whole journey was completely overpriced I felt. Not something I’ll ever repeat!
All buildings an vehicles should have AC, or they should be closed or not allowed in service. Especially for older people, high temperatures can be deadly.
@ncard00 in the UK, we only need a/c for maybe a couple of weeks a year. It's rare to find homes that have it. Our buildings and transport are built to keep the heat inside due to our climate
Are there any other sleeper services in Britain apart from the Caledonian to/from Highlands and Night Riviera to/from Cornwall? I had a wonderful experience with the latter last year, around the end of summer. Having the panorama view of waves gently touching the beachfront, as the train slowly makes its way to its terminal of Penzance station in the dawn is so mesmerising and pleasantly tranquilising. I guess if the weather permits, one could even watch the sunrise along the way - now THAT would be a glorious scene! Always wanted to try Caledonian Sleeper, used to have a plan to make this my celebratory trip after finishing my masters in Glasgow. (With a last-minute heat-of-the-moment decision, that plan was upgraded to a 14-day ALR trip, haha.) Alas, I have since moved here down south for work, but one of these days, I shall do this eventually.
Caledonian Sleeper Fort William - London May 2018 The food was okay, but there was only one guy preparing food and waiting tables in the crowded dining car. Despite the ads, there was no lounge car to relax and socialize after dinner. I arrived back in London well rested after the slow smooth overnight run. All and all it was a pretty decent trip, but nothing to write home about except for the scenery before dark. It's a good thing the Caledonian Sleeper is getting new equipment because this old equipment is battered and bruised and obviously operating way past its expiration date. Ironically, I've read bad reports on the much delayed new equipment. The men's toilet in my car was locked and out of service leaving Ft. William so I reluctantly used the women's room to avoid walking to another car in my night clothes. The window shade in my little cubby hole refused to stay down to block the very early morning light so I just got up and ordered coffee which was brought to my room by a courteous attendant. Would I do it again? Yes, in a heartbeat if I didn't have so much other ground to cover in my accelerating golden retirement years.
I remember using the sleeper from Aberdeen many years ago and it ran into Kings Cross, not Euston. Nonetheless, I have used the CS many many times over the course of the last 13 years, and the new Mk5 coaches are not a patch on the coaches they displaced. While the numerous problems they began with have been mostly ironed out they still have some ill thought out features, most annoying of which is the mirror which is so offset to the side it makes using it to shave all but impossible. The last time I did the Fort William portion was back in the 1970's when on arrival at Fort William the sleeper berths were detached but it was possible to continue in the regular day coaches on to Mallaig.
I had prior experience with a sleeper train here in italy, and it wasnt that bad. But the sleeping room was very small and made me feel quite claustrophobic. All in all a good experience, but had I taken an express, it would have been more comfortable
I'm fascinated by the concept of flying turds. When you watch a train zooming past at 100mph, always remember that someone onboard is probably on the lavatory. That means a 100mph turd has just gone past.
The big problem with this train is that it leaves far too early from London to be useful, unlike the Glasgow service. It needs to leave after 23:00 to be useful. In particular for MPs to be able to use it.
I did this trip 9 years ago when it was First group and the old carriages £68 I paid for a Bargin Berth which it was called today way pricey to do it but agree west highland line is just out of this world
I rode the Cal sleeper last April to Fort William from Euston, when I got on board the AC broke, was not happy. Felt sorry for the poor staff in their uniform.
Internet will get better now all train companies can get starlink put on .I live in a Motorhome in Scotland and this is the view I get everyday. it's the best. However if I had to use that train I also have a railcard and think £188 is a bargain.
With high prices of rail food onboard and col crisis can we take food from the lounge into the train to have on the way I'm diabetic get hungry quite often.
Having tried both this and the Night Riviera from London to Penzance the Night Riviera is better value for money, a more comfortable ride (in the older Mk3 sleeper carriages) and you get the luxury of the Victorian 1st class lounge at Paddington which is like walking into the set of a period drama!
I've watched a number of Caledonian Sleeper videos, and this has the potential to be a great journey, if also a bit pricey. But at you noted, it's not a very smooth ride and the cars are prone to technical problems like the a/c and the shower functioning. Apparently, the staff works hard to compensate for the deficiencies.
I took it from Fort William to London last year. But only with a seat reservation. Don't. Just don't. It was horrible. Fort William to Edinburgh was great. But for some reason, the seating car was left behind and we had to switch the seating car. It was full, load, unpleasant. I didn't like it at all. I slept like 2 hours (not in one time)... But the sleeping cars were just too expensive for me...
On minute 8:00, there is a reason why modern and cheap trains wont last much longer in acceptable condition, apart from their already poor quality standards. No wonder so many complaints about new fleets. Customer paid, Customer is the King. But... thank you anyway for sharing the interesting and informative video.
Sleeper Trains on both sides of the pond seem to have problems with air conditioning. I personally avoid rail travel in the summer, and wait until late fall and don't travel past early spring. Amtrak here in the states has the same problem. You can get heat when it's colder, but you have a fair amount of trouble trying to get air conditioning when it's warm or hot.
I think they try and blind you with the ovrrly bright lighting.......a sleeper should have much more subdued lighting. I couldnt do the seated journey option 13hrs under all those lights at night. Bogie knock on the mk5s is terrible and they just will not shut up.
The cabins have a dimmer switch, which was fine. I agree with you about the noise from the bogies. I was in cabins 9 and 10 which are over the wheels and got virtually no sleep. :o(
Just what was the temperature? I like it 68F. I suspect it was closer to 80F. They should have refunded 100%. I've heard lots of bad reports about these carriages.
Having done it last week after surgery because I couldn't fly and was in a double accessible cabin all we got was an eye mask, ear plugs a bar of soap to wash in the morning none of these fancy bags of toiletries mentioned on other TH-cam channels for £365 this is seriously taking the piss, the bed was like a mattress topper about 1inch and half thick. The staff were nice but that was it, the whole train is a piss take. I would not recommend this to anyone if I could have flown back to Inverness I would have but due to surgery I had no option, think I should have got a train to Glasgow and stayed in a premier inn it would have worked out cheaper
£188 is a little pricey. I can remember that not so long ago (before Serco took over the contract in 2014), the sleeper service was advertised as, "from as little as £19", although not many tickets were available for that price. Around £40 appeared to be the average.
The Internet has turned it from a way to get from A to B into a tourist attraction in its own right. On the night I took it, a good 50% of the passengers were Americans.
I used to take this train in the 80s/90s and it was a lot cheaper…you could upgrade to the sleeper for an extra £60 supplement. Then again that was before privatisation……
Brits get used to hard living. Remember u will die of cold . heat could be uncomfortable but u get used to it. You do not die of heat stroke if u are hydrated. No permanent damage like frost byte.
After watching all you TH-camrs doing sleeper train videos I decided to try two of them. I took the Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle for 44 hours, which was a pretty fun trip, and the Caledonian Sleeper from Inverness to London. I would like to be able to comment on the journey but I fell asleep 10 minutes after we started out and didn't wake up until it was time for breakfast. Best night's sleep I ever had.
money well spent
1:29 Pp0
‘Least she did her job I suppose
I've used the Caledonian sleeper a few times now and I've got to say that whilst I love the colour scheme and interior design of the Mk5 coaches I can't see myself using them again.
My first time on the Caledonian sleeper was on one if the old Mk3s and was one of the best journeys I've ever taken.
Since then I've used the Mk5s in the seated coach as a last minute option for a trip from London to Glasgow which wasn't great. The seat wasn't as comfortable as the old sets and didn't have as much recline but wasn't the worst seat in the world and was roomy enough. The air con was stuck on though making it freezing and the lights were left in full brightness all night.
My second experience was in a standard room with a friend, a little tight but fine for one night... But an issue with the kitchens meant there was no food service.
Most recently I've travelled solo in a club room when traveling for work and was told i'd been moved to a different room before boarding because my initial room had no hot water. The new room has the top bunk down though despite being for single occupancy making it feel very claustrophobic. When I asked for that top bunk you be folded away I was told that couldn't be done by staff on the train, only by the depot.
It's such a shame that the UK's premier sleeper service is so fundamentally broken. I'd love to see more sleeper trains in the UK including perhaps an ECML service to provide East Anglia, the East Midlands and Yorkshire with an overnight connection to Scotland and a cross-country overnight service from Glasgow and Edinburgh Down the ECML to York and Leeds and then down the MML to cover Sheffield, The East Midlands and then down to the South Coast/SouthWest.
I'd love to see an Inverness -> Penzance sleeper service
I used to take the Cali Sleeper from Edinburgh down to London when I lived in the UK, must be almost 15 years ago now. I really loved the experience as it was simple for me who lived in Stirling at the time. Scotrail to Edinburgh, dinner and a few drinks down the pub with some mates, get on the sleeper and when you woke up you were in London. Coaches were older but in pretty good nick, beds very comfortable. With a young persons rail card I remember the prices being excellent (especially considering the price of a London breakfast and airport transfers). Would love to travel on the service again.
I did the trip once prior to all the modernisation. I'm guessing health and safety has since ruined it, but back then the doors at either end of the carriage had slide down windows. So you could go up to the front of the train behind the loco and get the mountain air as the train climbed up the highlands. Was magical.
I've never been on a sleeper train, but I did go up to fort william from glasgow for a trip this autumn and seeing the sleeper trains up close was incredible, would love to travel using one
Done the Inverness to Euston sleeper service 3 days ago. Joined train 45 mins before departure and the single room was well presented and clean.. Bed was very comfortable and was asleep before departure and slept solidly for about 9 hours and arrived in Euston 5 mins early. Would definitely recommend without hesitation.
@stuartphillips822 Trains rock like a baby in a cradle - sleep tends to be deeper
Living in Inverness, the vast bulk of people here just get the EasyJet flight to either Gatwick, Luton or Bristol from Inverness Airport, It’s so quick and cheap, the Caledonian Sleeper just so eye watering experience and locals just look at it as a tourist train,or for people with money, such as our local MPs!
Yeah totally agree. 13 hours? Would a megabus/national express take as long.
What about BA
@@thomasfy4there is no direct coach from Inverness to London
@@s125ish really?
@@xr6lad for £180? Eye mask, ear plugs - bottle of gin, you’ll sleep
Lovely Tour
Travelled the night of the 30th Jan 2024. Great journey, great sleep and was absolutely wonderful to have the loo and shower in my cabin. Like yourself I could not fault the staff from Euston to Fort William, friendly, helpful and very very professional. Breakfast was amazing. I meant to eat when I boarded but fell asleep on the bed.
What app is being used to track the Trains speed?
My favourite railway journey in Britain, but only just beats the other highland journeys. Thanks for this j
Video. I had planned to go this week getting off at Rannoch and was afraid the train to Glasgow would depart before passengers could alight and cross over.
I did this trip myself, latest one year ago. The comfort is pretty OK up to Helensburgh Upper. After that, the tracks are not welded anymore. The carriages are prone to very much track noise, especially if you have a sleeping compartment above the bogies in the ends of the carriage. Pricewise, this trip is very expensive. Their haggis, neeps and tatties was the best though.
If only Siemens has made the sleepers.....the ride quality on one of their class 450s or 350s etc is serene.That cannot be said of the Mk 5 sleepers. I agree entirely, the ride is horrendous.but people who don't use trains regularly don't realise it.
I have done the Caledonian Sleeper to Fort William and back again. Both times I thoroughly enjoyed it and I got a decent night's sleep. The views were spectacular in Scotland and I couldn't fault the trip.
Except for the food. On the way up to Scotland there was very little to eat in the club car and had I known beforehand there were issues I wouldn't have went used the club car. Though the breakfast going through Scotland was lovely, going back I wasn't impressed. I had clearly marked on my breakfast card that I wanted my breakfast to be had in the club car. When I arrived at the club car I was told I was to have my breakfast in my cabin and I got chased out. I was not impressed by that. Other than that I enjoyed my trip and would do it again.
Great video. As a city slicker, I always wonder if the people in the remote parts realize they're living in paradise. Sure, no convenience store around the corner, but I'll take that any day.
As long as there is a train station and a pub, i'd be happy.
4.20 have they removed the parts of the antler livery that very annoyingly used to block the views from certain cabin windows ? Great news and long overdue if so.
We had no shower head and no water. Also on a design note it is very hard to get into and out of the top bunk as the distance from bunk to ceiling is not great. Also try and get a cabin that is in the middle of the coach not over the bogies. We got £200 back between two of us.
I'm going to be on the Caledonian Sleeper Aberdeen to London next month. Really looking forward to it as have always wanted to go on a sleeper train
I haven’t been on the sleeper although it is at the top of my bucket list but I have been on the Jacobite….and it was fantastic!! The views are stunning with the highlight being the Glenfinnan Viaduct. The good thing was that you sat in the same seat on both directions so you got to see the views from both sides of the train
I did that 40 years ago when no one knew about Harry Potter.
It was a class 37 pulling a rake of 5 Mk1 coaches, a proper train!
Travelled on the fort William and Inverness sleeper some years ago with the b r mk 2/3 carrages was a great experience haven't travelled on the new stock yet travelled on the night Riviera in may to Penzance was a great trip 😊
Great video - thanks!
I took this service (Euston - Ft William) for the first time the other day. I thought the ladder and top bunk were very frustrating as they serve zero purpose when the cabin is single occupancy. I much prefer the way the Night Riviera moves them.
It was cold when I traveled so I didn't pay much attention to the AC. I did notice the temperature fluctuating throughout the night, though.
Breakfast in the club car was by far the best part. If only pictures could do the views justice.
Just returned from Edinburgh after taking the sleeper train there.
Absolutely wonderful and totally agree with you about the fantastic.
We booked the double which was pricey but personally justified as this did more for me than a week in the sun lol.
We're going to experience the Fort William journey next so there's enough time to sleep and enjoy the train journey.
A great video, thank you.
Will be looking at our Fort William experience soon.
Cheers.
Matt
those views looked stunning!
I am quite astounded by the fact that class 66s are used on this route. I guess GBRF uses whichever loco possible. Great video, by the way.
66 is only there for power, it has to be 66 + 73 + coaches as the 66 can't provide ETH
Took the Caledonian for the first time in June, 4 days before Serco passed the franchise if I remember correctly. Was hoping for a good sleeper experience on the lowlander, hopefully at least holding a candle to Amtrak bedrooms I’ve been in before.
I got some of the worst sleep in my life, and when I got back to London, I was only out til about 11 in the morning before having to go back and take a nap in the hotel. Ride quality was horrendous to the point it ruined my sleep. Not surprised the A/C didn’t work on your journey…
What a brilliant trip. Can’t wait to try it. Thanks
Living in Northern Ireland, I used the sleeper from Stranraer to Euston Station and back quite a few times in connection with my job in the late 1980s, cost wise it worked out about the same as business class flight, but it was a much nicer and less stressful way to arrive at a morning meeting in London. I always got a good sleep, except for an occasional disturbance at Carlisle, where I think a coach was added.
The scenery looked really nice on the Highlands journey,,weighing up cost for a daytime train return fair with breakfast isn't so severe sounding if you add in what would be 2 nights at a hotel cost.
£188 is decent given a single from EUS to FTW is around £120 with a railcard on average. Then add in a hotel in London or one in Fort William which both average around £70-100 and you will quickly realise the sleeper is the cheaper option
Probably won't operate tonight due to Storm Babet!I always thought that the BR ones were Mark 3 and before that Mark 1.There were no dedicated Mark 2 or 4 sleeping wagons although they could be attached as seated coach but Mark 4 has never been.Probably the new Mark 5 stock doesn't allow other coach marks to be attached?I think that the Mk 5 is locomotive fussy too and the Class 90 isn't compatible.I don't know if 67's are still used if indeed they are compatible.Of course any locomotive could pull it but it's the powering up of the passenger parts.
This is amazing thx 👍
brilliant wunderbar deine videos sind super bahnfilme we love you
Please do a review onboard the RENFE AVE S102 Talgo pato and the Alvia S730 from Madrid to Extremadura. Good video, I am subscribed to your channel. Happy New year
This to me is better than the Night Riviera. More sleep means the healthier you grow as they say. Amazing video Midland
The Night Riviera route is just too short. If you board and go straight to bed, you'd be lucky to get 6 hours sleep.
I'm glad you start this film with the words, "This is a luxury product," as the luxury holiday and business-type travellers are the only ones that it now caters for, thanks to the early decision to omit any cheaper, couchette-type accommodation in its design; the general lack of special offers and the exhorbitant fares it charges. Yes, they might compensate you if you go to the trouble of complaining about that rough riding quality or any of the other increasingly notorious imperfections of the Mk 5 sleeping cars; but even the £139 that you ended up paying (including your paltry 10% railcard discount - which itself is at odds with the rest of the rail industry, which generally offers 34% - and your £50 compensation), is right up at the higher end of what most ordinary people could afford to pay - especially when you consider that is just for one direction of what I imagine for most will be a return trip! The operator tries to justify their high fares with the explanation that they are comparable with the three or four-star hotels that business travellers might otherwise stay at in London or Edinburgh, were they to use daytime services instead - but that tells us all we need to know, doesn't it? They might as well just put up a page on their booking website to advise those of us who are obliged to use the budget end of the accommodation market, that the sleeper is not intended for us... Rather, it is intended for those who can either afford it themselves or who are travelling on business expenses...
Neither do their trains offer any cheaper alternatives - and their seating coaches are like a form of medieval torture, especially when compared to the reclining, roomy, soft, downgraded first-class day coaches with main lights that were dimmed for most of the journey, as were the standard offering on the previous, Mk III sleeper services... Much as I don't enjoy the seated sleeper much anyway, I would have at least considered it a potential travel option were it not the brightly-lit, inflexible metal-framed rack of ironing boards that require a great deal more intimacy if you're sat next to a stranger than any that you might experienced in a shared sleeper cabin. There is also the small matter of the absent all-night buffet service that was made available through a hatch at the end of the carriage in the Mk III trains.
The inclusion of pod-type seating and/or couchette-type accommodation was considered in the early days of the development of the Mk 5 sleeper trains that are now in use. This would have offerred a cheaper alternative to an actual sleeping berth that would have allowed passengers to at least stretch out during their long, overnight journeys - the fares for which would presumably be somewhere between that for an upright ironing board in the seated coach; and exclusive use of a 2-berth cabin - let's say, somewhere between £120 - £150, before railcard discounts. No doubt these would have been within the potential of most ordinary people; but they were dropped in favour of the present offering, given that the 16-coach length of the core section between London and Carstairs or Edinburgh is the maximum permitted on Network Rail; and they didn't want to have to run a third overnight train.... But why not, I ask you? The three parts of the Highland Sleeper to the north of Edinburgh could easily haul another two or three coaches of such accommodation - hence a 12-car maximum train that gets there first so that it can be marshalled onto the others as required, is all that's needed - to cater for the rest of the population - most of whom probably now avail themselves of flights between the London airports and Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Aberdeen or maybe even Dundee airports! Or on the grounds that the seats on the seated coaches are now even less comfortable than those on the many through coach services - just use those instead and be done with!
It doesn't matter which way you look at it. Caledonian Sleepers as they arte presently configured, aren't only a luxury product - they are an exclusive product aimed at the rich; with deliberate efforts made to exclude most of the ordinary people of the UK. They are a discredit to our nation and in my view, really shouldn't be encouraged by our hard-earned custom.
A fair "warts and all" video I think. I haven't travelled on the new coaches yet, but am planning to next summer.(Covid got in the way) However I have travelled on the old coaches to Fort William, Inverness and Glasgow. I've also done the Night Riviera. Pricing seems to have gone up a lot since i last travelled, but then so has everything. Thoughts on value proposition, the lowland sleeper really doesn't stack up, unless you have to be in Glasgow or Edinburgh very early, or are leaving very late, then the regular daytime trains are quick and cheap enough. (Especially Lumo to Edinburgh).
I travel quite regularly to Mallaig, and for this journey needing to be there mid afternoon the sleeper wins hands down, and did particularly so when I was still working . To travel via Glasgow I would lose at least half a working day travelling to Glasgow, pay for a night in a hotel, then have quite an early 5 hr +train ride on West Highland line next morning, (which is worth doing once). With the Sleeper I could do a normal days work, have a bite to eat earlier in the evening and then hop on the sleeper. After a good nights sleep, arrive in FW , cross the platform and hop on either the Jacobite or the midday Scotrail service to Mallaig. Cost wise the Sleeper might work out about £20-30 more expensive overall, but so much more comfortable and relaxing, so I think it pays for itself.
I find sleeping on the trains fine, except if you start in a carriage right next to the Loco. The service always was ok but looks better now, service on the Night Riveria is also good, coaches are a bit more old fashioned, but very comfortable.
The Jacobite is a nice experience, it stops for a break at Glenfinnan, but as you found out it can get very busy which does detract a bit. Scenery wise you get the same on Scotrail at a fraction of the price.
Now that I have lots more holiday time I am looking to try some of the European sleeper trains as well.
The price you paid is pretty good if you have to factor in the train journey (or 2 journeys) and a night in a hotel.
Planning to do a London to Inverness trip this May by Caledonian Sleeper train. Will share my experience
Nice. It is quite surprising that a 13-hour train ride seems quite a deal within the UK. This is normal for all overnight services in India and there are top premium trains like Rajdhani covering distances which would end up spending 24 hours in a train. A train which runs from the southernmost point of India to the Northernmost takes around 3 days.
at Corrour you forgot to mention that their is a signal box that you can stay in
I caught it from fort William Recently . My club solo room also had the top bunk up and locked in place . The conductor said they are permanently left locked , which crowds out the room
Looks amazing, looks like its worth a try !
nice train
A couple of weeks ago I stayed in the Signal Box at Corrour for a couple of nights, very popular with rail enthusiasts, and watched the Caledonian Sleeper come and go a few times. I did also get to travel on the Jacobite from Mallaig to Fort William one way much to my very pleasant surprise, as like you, when I was looking to book in advance, which would have to be a return, it was fully booked. But… it was a question of ‘if you don’t ask you don’t get’! I was ready at Mallaig to watch it come and go and then get my ScotRail train to Corrour but, as I say, it was possible to gain a little local knowledge which is not mentioned on the website 😉. My trip, sadly, did not include travelling on the Caledonian Sleeper but did include running the Loch Ness Marathon and circling Scotland by rail (with the bus and ferry on Sky).
Its a beautiful route and i really need to do it again. Only problem is since moving from a 16-25 railcard to a 26-30 one Caledionan Sleeper dont accept the 26 - 30 railcard so i go less often now
Please lift flap to store table. Written on the bottom face of the table.😂
I found the Caledonian sleeper totally failed to live up to the publicity. I was in the front Inverness portion train and nobody came to check my ticket until we started. I then made my way to the club car to find but despite my supposing clubroom priority all the breakfast slots work on for the following morning. Fortunately I already eaten as I wouldn't have been able to get an evening meal there either. Compared with an Amtrak full sleeper compartment the facilities, particularly the shower, were a complete joke. Although I had a single the upper berth and the latter were locked in place with the ladder exactly position to provide the maximum obstruction getting in and out of the lower berth. A foot in either direction be much easier to get round it. Supposedly the latest thing in sleeping cars the ride was juddery and wheels excessively noisy when the train got up speed rising to an ear shattering scream when you went through the corridor connections. The LNER Azuma I came south on was by comparison fantastically quiet and smooth. Also once the dribble of a shower had been used the water failed to drain away properly and the floor remained wet the rest of the trip. However I will say the bed was very comfortable.
Also in the sleeper lounge at 8 o'clock I was approached by a member of staff who gave me a priority boarding sticker and told me to go to platform one which was where the late-night departure to Edinburgh and Glasgow left and mine was actually at platform 13. Also there was no priority boarding, we all just queued up at the gate and got treated the same.
So nothing absolutely terrible apart from the noisy wheels and ridiculous shower but a long way below what I experienced in sleepers in America or Scandinavia. So what was to have been the highlight of my trip was a big disappointment.
The Amtrak sleepers are brilliant, but it's not a fair comparison. They're also enormous.
Completely agree on the ladder. It's infuriating and would be so easy to put it at one end or make it detachable.
I experienced very little comfort or sleep in my club twin room round trip to/from London and Inverness. The noise and shaking was very loud and uncomfortable. The whole journey was completely overpriced I felt. Not something I’ll ever repeat!
When the tickets aren’t too expensive, it’s a viable way to get down to London for work in the morning, as saves a night in a London hotel..
All buildings an vehicles should have AC, or they should be closed or not allowed in service. Especially for older people, high temperatures can be deadly.
@ncard00 in the UK, we only need a/c for maybe a couple of weeks a year. It's rare to find homes that have it. Our buildings and transport are built to keep the heat inside due to our climate
@@ncard00 insanely expensive, considering its not used much, in homes it can be used 2 weeks every year. also a fan does the job and much cheaper
I'm more surprised the Mark 5 suspension didn't launch you through the carriage roof to be honest
Are there any other sleeper services in Britain apart from the Caledonian to/from Highlands and Night Riviera to/from Cornwall?
I had a wonderful experience with the latter last year, around the end of summer. Having the panorama view of waves gently touching the beachfront, as the train slowly makes its way to its terminal of Penzance station in the dawn is so mesmerising and pleasantly tranquilising. I guess if the weather permits, one could even watch the sunrise along the way - now THAT would be a glorious scene!
Always wanted to try Caledonian Sleeper, used to have a plan to make this my celebratory trip after finishing my masters in Glasgow. (With a last-minute heat-of-the-moment decision, that plan was upgraded to a 14-day ALR trip, haha.) Alas, I have since moved here down south for work, but one of these days, I shall do this eventually.
What a cool❗inside and exterior🥰
Done London to Aberdeen twice on it. Both times the cabin was overheated. Otherwise the train was much better than other European night services.
What is there to do in Fort Williams?
Caledonian Sleeper
Fort William - London
May 2018
The food was okay, but there was only one guy preparing food and waiting tables in the crowded dining car. Despite the ads, there was no lounge car to relax and socialize after dinner.
I arrived back in London well rested after the slow smooth overnight run. All and all it was a pretty decent trip, but nothing to write home about except for the scenery before dark.
It's a good thing the Caledonian Sleeper is getting new equipment because this old equipment is battered and bruised and obviously operating way past its expiration date. Ironically, I've read bad reports on the much delayed new equipment.
The men's toilet in my car was locked and out of service leaving Ft. William so I reluctantly used the women's room to avoid walking to another car in my night clothes. The window shade in my little cubby hole refused to stay down to block the very early morning light so I just got up and ordered coffee which was brought to my room by a courteous attendant. Would I do it again? Yes, in a heartbeat if I didn't have so much other ground to cover in my accelerating golden retirement years.
what app did you use to check the speed of the train?
I remember using the sleeper from Aberdeen many years ago and it ran into Kings Cross, not Euston. Nonetheless, I have used the CS many many times over the course of the last 13 years, and the new Mk5 coaches are not a patch on the coaches they displaced. While the numerous problems they began with have been mostly ironed out they still have some ill thought out features, most annoying of which is the mirror which is so offset to the side it makes using it to shave all but impossible.
The last time I did the Fort William portion was back in the 1970's when on arrival at Fort William the sleeper berths were detached but it was possible to continue in the regular day coaches on to Mallaig.
Never been on any Sleeper train in the UK nor the Jacobite either for that matter.
You don’t know what you are missing, even better if it is a bit sunny as well.
I had prior experience with a sleeper train here in italy, and it wasnt that bad. But the sleeping room was very small and made me feel quite claustrophobic. All in all a good experience, but had I taken an express, it would have been more comfortable
Well I think you had a slightly better experience than me mate!
I'm fascinated by the concept of flying turds. When you watch a train zooming past at 100mph, always remember that someone onboard is probably on the lavatory. That means a 100mph turd has just gone past.
What is the average and maximum operational speed of this train??
The big problem with this train is that it leaves far too early from London to be useful, unlike the Glasgow service. It needs to leave after 23:00 to be useful. In particular for MPs to be able to use it.
I'm traveling on these train's next year the first one is to Aberdeen and the second one to fort William
What rail card you have to get a 3rd off ?
I did this trip 9 years ago when it was First group and the old carriages £68 I paid for a Bargin Berth which it was called today way pricey to do it but agree west highland line is just out of this world
BMW Mini One 1.6 Petrol MK1, then he switched to a BMW Mini One D MK1, still a very fun car even this day
I rode the Cal sleeper last April to Fort William from Euston, when I got on board the AC broke, was not happy. Felt sorry for the poor staff in their uniform.
Internet will get better now all train companies can get starlink put on .I live in a Motorhome in Scotland and this is the view I get everyday. it's the best. However if I had to use that train I also have a railcard and think £188 is a bargain.
With high prices of rail food onboard and col crisis can we take food from the lounge into the train to have on the way I'm diabetic get hungry quite often.
The light switch and the button to call the host being so close together seems like a mistake
Having tried both this and the Night Riviera from London to Penzance the Night Riviera is better value for money, a more comfortable ride (in the older Mk3 sleeper carriages) and you get the luxury of the Victorian 1st class lounge at Paddington which is like walking into the set of a period drama!
Whats the app you are using to track the speed of the train?
Those seats in the seated accommodation carriage are very uncomfortable, the old rolling stock had more comfortable seating.
Didn’t the Scottish Sleepers once leave from Kings Cross, and even sometimes St. Pancras?
I've watched a number of Caledonian Sleeper videos, and this has the potential to be a great journey, if also a bit pricey. But at you noted, it's not a very smooth ride and the cars are prone to technical problems like the a/c and the shower functioning. Apparently, the staff works hard to compensate for the deficiencies.
Its not just about smoothness, its about the noise of the bogies, the clanking and knocking all night long.
I took it from Fort William to London last year. But only with a seat reservation. Don't. Just don't. It was horrible. Fort William to Edinburgh was great. But for some reason, the seating car was left behind and we had to switch the seating car. It was full, load, unpleasant. I didn't like it at all. I slept like 2 hours (not in one time)...
But the sleeping cars were just too expensive for me...
A quick question, was that price for a ticket for two? And original price of your ticket happened to be around £270 without that dicount?
You think the bunk beds are bad try the seat's 👍😂
On minute 8:00, there is a reason why modern and cheap trains wont last much longer in acceptable condition, apart from their already poor quality standards. No wonder so many complaints about new fleets. Customer paid, Customer is the King. But... thank you anyway for sharing the interesting and informative video.
Sleeper Trains on both sides of the pond seem to have problems with air conditioning. I personally avoid rail travel in the summer, and wait until late fall and don't travel past early spring. Amtrak here in the states has the same problem. You can get heat when it's colder, but you have a fair amount of trouble trying to get air conditioning when it's warm or hot.
i wonder if they just detchaed carriages from the class 397
I think they try and blind you with the ovrrly bright lighting.......a sleeper should have much more subdued lighting. I couldnt do the seated journey option 13hrs under all those lights at night. Bogie knock on the mk5s is terrible and they just will not shut up.
The cabins have a dimmer switch, which was fine. I agree with you about the noise from the bogies. I was in cabins 9 and 10 which are over the wheels and got virtually no sleep. :o(
what is that train at Fort William
13:18 ...and the most remote of all railway stations in Britain.
Just what was the temperature? I like it 68F. I suspect it was closer to 80F. They should have refunded 100%. I've heard lots of bad reports about these carriages.
The Euston Station you are in will not be the terminus of HS2, HS2 will terminate in a newly built part of Euston
I have travelled more than 48 hours in non AC train - in Indian summer. no big deal.
How tall are you if you don’t mind me asking?
why is Corrour in a film that despite being called trainspotting is not actually about trainspotting
Collab with Dylan's Travel Reports 🙂
at least you got a little bit of a compensation of 50 pounds because temperature control is broken in caledonian sleeper train
Having done it last week after surgery because I couldn't fly and was in a double accessible cabin all we got was an eye mask, ear plugs a bar of soap to wash in the morning none of these fancy bags of toiletries mentioned on other TH-cam channels for £365 this is seriously taking the piss, the bed was like a mattress topper about 1inch and half thick. The staff were nice but that was it, the whole train is a piss take. I would not recommend this to anyone if I could have flown back to Inverness I would have but due to surgery I had no option, think I should have got a train to Glasgow and stayed in a premier inn it would have worked out cheaper
euston!?
£188 bed for the night return imo is a good deal
£188 is a little pricey. I can remember that not so long ago (before Serco took over the contract in 2014), the sleeper service was advertised as, "from as little as £19", although not many tickets were available for that price. Around £40 appeared to be the average.
The Internet has turned it from a way to get from A to B into a tourist attraction in its own right. On the night I took it, a good 50% of the passengers were Americans.
I wish Euston was so much nicer than it is. It’s a truly hideous station.
3:20 A Bhartiya Bacchi is on duty at Euston Station Platform Entrance😍
Can you get a sleeper birth from Crewe?
I used to take this train in the 80s/90s and it was a lot cheaper…you could upgrade to the sleeper for an extra £60 supplement. Then again that was before privatisation……
How can you sleep in 27 C ?
Brits get used to hard living. Remember u will die of cold . heat could be uncomfortable but u get used to it. You do not die of heat stroke if u are hydrated. No permanent damage like frost byte.
What is your best sleeper train experience
Night Riviera.
@@paradisehotel5005 Nice option