Night Riviera - merged posts, ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[woody]

Probably more to do with the cost of petrol and the cost of flights

Also the lack of improvement in daytime journey times over 30 odd years,indeed longer journey times in many cases on FGW^▸ (First Great Western) have and will ensure the survival of the sleeper for many years to come I suspect.It is unlikely EVER that the route to Penzance will ever rival the daytime journey time improvements seen in the last few decades on the East and West coast routes.

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

its not just that, time is money and if you can get where you need to while your asleep then why not

[smokey]

its not just that, time is money and if you can get where you need to while your asleep then why not

A good quote at a Save Our Sleeper meeting I heard back in 2005,

My young Daughter gets on (the train) at Penzance, I'll get her a juice from the Bar and by Redruth she is in-bed asleep and wont wake till London.

To her that's 307 plus miles in less than half an hour.

THAT'S QUICK!!!!!!

[LiskeardRich]

the bbc have finally caught up 2 weeks later than the announcement

Page last updated at 09:48 GMT, Sunday, 4 July 2010 10:48 UK^▸ (United Kingdom)
The overnight service takes about eight hours from Penzance to London More carriages are being added to the sleeper train from Cornwall and Devon to London.

First Great Western said the move was necessary because of an increase in the demand for the "Night Riviera" service from Penzance to Paddington.

The company believes this is because people are trying to save money on London hotel costs.

Regional general manager, Julian Crow, said First Great Western is considering expanding the service further.

"We're watching carefully how business develops," he told BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) News.

Continue reading the main story This is a very good step forward
Julian Crow
 
First Great Western
 The sleeper carriages can now accommodate 60 passengers during the week and 75 at the weekend.

The weekday train leaves Penzance at about 2130, arriving at London Paddington at about 0530 the following morning.

Thousands of people signed a petition when the service came under threat in 2005.

It was running at a loss and had to rely on a ^5m annual subsidy from the Department of Transport, but when First Group was awarded the new franchise from April 2006, it said the service would be retained and extended.

"This is a very good step forward," Mr Crow said.

[Mookiemoo]

I fly to the US on Monday 20th december.......flight leaves to early to travel up that morning.

Hotels near heathrow expensive or you end up paying a fortune in a taxi so I was thinking outside of the box.....

Where normally can you pick the sleeper up from - its december so the timetable is not out so  I can't look

I'm thinking rather than pay the fare to travel down on the sunday and pay for a hotel and taxis - to get the sleeper from somewhere since I've never been on it.  As I'll be going amtrak the next day, would be nice to do a direct comparison

Hell, I'll be getting it Sunday night so might even go as far as penzance to get it

I know, I'm turning sad
Just musing

[devon_metro]

Taunton is your nearest, but you won't get to bed till about 2 in the morning!

[JayMac]

No stop on the Sunday 'up' sleeper at Taunton, nearest would be Exeter, unless a Taunton stop is added in the winter timetable.

On current timetable (unlikely to be major changes in Dec) you would have a two hour plus wait at Exeter St Davids travelling down from Nailsea on the direct HST^▸ (High Speed Train) at 2106 arriving Exeter at 2219, with the up sleeper arriving at 0036 and departing for Paddington at 0127.

Better to make your way to Bristol and take the 2044 CrossCountry from Bristol TM^‡(resolve) to Plymouth arriving 2246 with the up sleeper due in at 2315.

[Mookiemoo]

Can you get advance tickets on the sleeper?  The via bristol idea sounds good

[6 OF 2 redundant adjunct of unimatrix 01]

i would say Exeter atleast you can be on board at a decent time

[vacman]

Can you get advance tickets on the sleeper?  The via bristol idea sounds good

yes you can get advance on the sleeper, why not go all the way to Penzance and get it from there and have a berth, you'll get a decent nights sleep then!

[LiskeardRich]

Can you get advance tickets on the sleeper?  The via bristol idea sounds good

yes you can get advance on the sleeper, why not go all the way to Penzance and get it from there and have a berth, you'll get a decent nights sleep then!

departs penzance just before 10pm so a very reasonable time, pick it up somewhere in cornwall for a decent amount sleep

[Mookiemoo]

Can you get advance tickets on the sleeper?  The via bristol idea sounds good

yes you can get advance on the sleeper, why not go all the way to Penzance and get it from there and have a berth, you'll get a decent nights sleep then!

I was only going to do it with a berth!

I guess I assumed you get a berth from any station..........

Just get an advance to penzance.........work on the way down - get it back again

Wont be that much more than train to pad, express, taxi to hotel, hotel room, dinner, taxi back, etc etc etc

Or paying silly money for a hotel with a shuttel

I guess they don't come on sale until September?

[JayMac]

The usual 12 weeks ahead will apply to Advance sleeper booking. Can be less however. Currently the booking horizon for FGW^▸ (First Great Western) is 20th October, 11 weeks hence.

Looking at the current booking horizon the cheapest Advance Sleeper Solo is ^49.00 PNZ/PLY^» (Plymouth - next trains) - PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains).

[Mookiemoo]

Does that include a bed?  If so its even cheaper than I calculated

[Cornish Traveller]

yes that price is for berth AND travel - if people knew such good fares available sure it would be even more popular !