End of line for Sleeper trains that go bump in the night
Rail chiefs who showed off the first of the Spanish-built carriages to The Scotsman yesterday said the impact of sections being coupled and decoupled en route would be “almost negligible”.
The trains are being fitted out in Glasgow ahead of the first ones going into service between Edinburgh, Glasgow and London on 28 October.
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Hide AdReplacing carriages up to nearly 50 years old, they are due to also operate the Sleeper’s London routes to Fort William, Inverness and Aberdeen from the spring.
Innovations include double beds, wheelchair-accessible rooms and ensuite wet rooms with showers, to be “tested to in an inch of their life”.
Passengers will access cabins with tap-on smartcards, and can order room-service food via intercom.
Operator Serco said air conditioning, another passenger bugbear of the current service, would also be transformed.
New trains director Marcus Conn said: “It was one of the areas I was really concerned about but I’m confident it will be fantastic.”
The new lounge car can accommodate 34 people compared to 18 at present, with its new layout including banquette seating, and stools along a “saw tooth”-shaped table for solo travellers
The new galley has a wide range of equipment such as a holding oven which Serco said could keep scrambled egg in a “nice state” for two hours.
Caledonian Sleeper managing director Ryan Flaherty said: “We have won awards with the current two-microwave galley - what we will be able to do with this is very exciting.”
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Hide AdSeated passengers will have individual reading lights, power and USB charging points, and lockable storage for valuables, using an access code they set themselves.
Airline-style screens showing the progress of the journey and landmarks en route will replace announcements to reduce disturbance.
The tan and teal reclining seats do not tilt towards the person behind but they also don’t go back any further than the current ones.
Original plans for lie-flat “pod” seats were abandoned because of crash safety concerns.
The £150 million fleet will be covered by CCTV for the first time, while the vestibules even have shoe cleaners.
Features that reflect the Scottish Government’s requirement that the trains are “emblematic of Scotland” include brown Tweed walls.
Mr Flaherty said: “It makes it Scottish without being a shortbread tin.”