Caledonian Sleeper has launched its new £150 million fleet of trains, with British travellers now able to sleep on a double bed on the service for the first time.
The new carriages made their debut on Sunday night on the Lowlander route between London and Glasgow/Edinburgh.
READ MORE: First pictures: Caledonian Sleeper trains reveal first look inside new rail fleet
This is to be followed by their introduction on the Highlander route between London and Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William in the coming weeks.
Ryan Flaherty, Serco’s managing director for Caledonian Sleeper, said: “Our new trains have been years in the making and to see them make their debut is a huge moment for everyone involved in making this dream a reality.
“The overriding ambition has been to deliver on our vision of a Caledonian Sleeper service fit for today’s traveller, one that combines the modern facilities people expect with that feeling of nostalgia that comes from long-distance railway travel.
“We want guests to have a magical journey with us, whether they are travelling for business or for pleasure.”
The fleet, built at a cost of £150m, has been part funded by capital grants from Scottish ministers and from the UK Government.
Accommodation ranges from new comfort seats to rooms with double beds and en suites – a first in the history of Caledonian Sleeper.
Other new features on the trains include a hotel-style keycard entry system, charging panels and Wi-Fi throughout.
READ MORE: New Caledonian Sleeper trains carry first passengers
Cabinet Secretary for Transport Michael Matheson said: “The Scottish Government is proud to have played its part in the launch of this new Caledonian Sleeper service.
“In subsidy over the 15 years of this franchise, in support for this fleet of new trains and in funding for stations and passenger lounges, this is clear evidence of our genuine commitment to both rail and tourism in Scotland.
“The scale of change is remarkable and a credit to everyone who has worked on this project.”
Scottish Secretary David Mundell: “It is fantastic to see the launch of the new Caledonian Sleeper service.
“The UK Government has invested £50 million in the new fleet, improving vital connectivity between Scotland and England, and improving the service for the thousands of passengers. I was pleased to travel on their debut journey and look forward to using this service for years to come.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel