Cycling UK Forum

There are revised conditions for bike carriage on the Caledonian Sleeper, it appears the new franchise holder is more interested in attracting passengers with bikes.
Link for details....
https://www.sleeper.scot/on-board/cycles-and-pets

Whoa Nelly - I did not know of this train's existence - It has changed my life!
So grateful.

I took this last June on my journey home - Inverness to ( supposedly ) Euston. I did very little advance booking of anything on my route as I was unsure that I could do the distance so I could not get on the day trains with my bike. So that left the sleeper.

I booked a First Class berth , which was great as I enjoy trains and especially sleepers. Food and drink were surprisingly good value and the staff are excellent.

But then we broke down somewhere in the Midlands early Sat morning. Basically it took 5 hours to get us going again with a new loco and we only got to Watford Junction.

But the good news was from there I got a train direct to my home station and my full fare of £164 was refunded - OK in rail vouchers - which I have used on other trips. So I was very happy overall.

John

I used this train when doing my JOGLE last August. I booked 3 months in advance and it cost me only £61 from Euston to Inverness. (I missed the bargain berth tickets). I did have to share my cabin, but it was no problem and saved me £100 which covered my first 12 nights camping of the trip.

Although the cabins are very small, I found the bed really comfortable and managed to sleep for a good 6 hours. Even the early morning shunting when the train splits did not wake me. I did not eat on the train, so can't comment on that, but the rest of the service I found very good and would definitely recommend.

Seems the excitement of trying to get a bargain berth is a thing of the past, I've used the service four times with fares between £29 and £49. It's still a reasonable price for what it is, and it basically buys an extra days holiday, but these prices put it out of my reach for most trips.

I recently used the Caledonian Sleeper at the end of my LEJOG to get from Inverness to London and had a brilliant experience. I booked a normal seat for £34 (assuming I would be so tired after LEJOG that I wouldn't care where I slept - I was right!). Possibly because I booked during the switchover from ScotRail, they somehow overbooked bike spaces on the train however, they arranged for a courier service to drive my bike all the way to London for me! Cannot fault their customer service, super friendly and would definitely use again!

It's great to see that you can take bikes FOC - and if they are full they will pay for road transport of your bike FOC. Now that is quite incredible!

Presumably only because they had to compensate for their error, though. Don't expect it as a regular service.

LollyKat wrote:Presumably only because they had to compensate for their error, though. Don't expect it as a regular service.

No, it is an advertised part of the service.
Cut and pasted from the website......

Road Courier

In times of high demand your bike may need to be transported by road courier and you may need to drop it off at your departure station up to four hours before you travel to allow the courier time to transport your bike. If this is the case you will need to pack your bike in a bike bag provided by us, at the station, to protect it from damage. If your bike does have to travel by road courier, the Guest Services Centre will tell you this before your journey

Ron wrote:

LollyKat wrote:Presumably only because they had to compensate for their error, though. Don't expect it as a regular service.

No, it is an advertised part of the service.
Cut and pasted from the website......

Road Courier

In times of high demand your bike may need to be transported by road courier and you may need to drop it off at your departure station up to four hours before you travel to allow the courier time to transport your bike. If this is the case you will need to pack your bike in a bike bag provided by us, at the station, to protect it from damage. If your bike does have to travel by road courier, the Guest Services Centre will tell you this before your journey

That's exceptional service

So glad I read this thread! Since Virgin took over the east coast line the advance fares from London to Aberdeen have virtually doubled from £35 to £68 (despite them denying it, the lying buggers!).

Looks like I can get a recliner on the sleeper for £40 and book well in advance. Takes a couple of hours longer but hopefully I'd be asleep !

sarahcycles wrote:I recently used the Caledonian Sleeper at the end of my LEJOG to get from Inverness to London and had a brilliant experience. I booked a normal seat for £34 (assuming I would be so tired after LEJOG that I wouldn't care where I slept - I was right!). Possibly because I booked during the switchover from ScotRail, they somehow overbooked bike spaces on the train however, they arranged for a courier service to drive my bike all the way to London for me! Cannot fault their customer service, super friendly and would definitely use again!

Hi Sarah - what were the bike bags like which were provided for the courier service please?

Did you have to break your bike down fully or did they go in fairly complete?

Many thanks

We have used it several times

Absolutely brilliant for the trip up, but Sitting waiting in Glasgow with loaded bikes for the Sleeper to load is less fun

Has anyone used the overnight bike courier service on the Caledonian Sleeper? If so what are the bike bags like & does the bike need breaking down fully?

Ron wrote: Road Courier

In times of high demand your bike may need to be transported by road courier and you may need to drop it off at your departure station up to four hours before you travel to allow the courier time to transport your bike. If this is the case you will need to pack your bike in a bike bag provided by us, at the station, to protect it from damage. If your bike does have to travel by road courier, the Guest Services Centre will tell you this before your journey

This may mean not being able to make timetabled connections. E.g. At Inverness, a road-transported bike may arrive a lot later than the train, making it impossible to change to the morning service to Kyle of Lochalsh.