Caledonian sleeper train service bidders named (BBC News 28th June 2013)

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Three firms are in the running to take over the Caledonian sleeper train service, the Scottish government has announced.

Aberdeen-based First Group, which already runs the service, is facing competition from Arriva Night Trains and Serco.

The Caledonian franchise connects Inverness, Fort William, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow to London.

The new 15-year franchise is expected to start in April 2015.

Arriva is ultimately owned by DB^» (Deutsche Bahn - German State Railway - about), the German state railway company which operates the largest network of sleeper services in western Europe.

Serco operates sleeper trains aimed at tourists in Australia, the government said.

Transport Minister Keith Brown said: "I am delighted at the positive interest shown in the Caledonian sleeper franchise competition and that the contract remains on track to be awarded next summer.

"The sleeper service is much more than just a rail service. It is a world-recognised Scottish transport icon and the Scottish government will be seeking to realise its true potential as a portal for business and tourism by making improvements that will lead to improved quality and greater value for its passengers."

Three companies all with experience running Sleeper services. Place your bets now. Not mentioned in the story but part of the tender is an investment from Transport Scotland of between ^50 and ^60 million. Matched by a similar amount from Westminster. This will enable the new franchisee to either modernise the existing fleet or it could go toward the cost of replacing the rolling stock.

[Kernow Otter]

I quite like the idea of sleeper services nation wide being operated as a stand alone franchise.  Perhaps that would lead to the development of the service back towards its former network. 

Recently caught a sleeper from Cologne to Copenhagen, that started in Amsterdam, and was split and joined all night with various different carriages coming from all over Europe.

While the scale is obviously smaller, in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) for example, a portion of the Night Riviera could split at Bristol, for onwards running to join the Scotland services. and vice versa

[grahame]

While the scale is obviously smaller, in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) for example, a portion of the Night Riviera could split at Bristol, for onwards running to join the Scotland services. and vice versa

Nice idea ... but by the time it got to Bristol and then Birmingham, the Caledonians would have cleared Carlisle.

[Kernow Otter]

Good point, but if all sleeper services were bundled together as a franchise then then there might be opportunities and incentives for revised workings to incorporate new routes and destinations. 

Heaven forbid that might even re-evolve into an overnight long distance motorail service.....