Night Riviera - merged posts, ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[Sleepy]

Sleeper goes from strength to strength - looking at random date Thursday May 9th ex - Paddington all berths booked, the extra Sleeper coach to be introduced at May timetable change will be useful.

[bobm]

This week I booked three sleeper berths. Two either side of Easter and one in May. 

Purely anecdotal but there were advance tickets available for all three. 

[PhilWakely]

Having treated my ladies to a show at the Royal Albert Hall recently, I had occasion to try out the refurbished seating in Coach A of the sleeper [travelling only as far as Exeter].

Both my wife and my daughter delivered a very definite 'thumbs down' to the very hard seats. Both said that, previously, they had easily been able to doze comfortably in their seat - but could not get comfortable enough in the new style seat. I have been told, in no uncertain terms that it'll be a Travelodge in future, returning home the following morning. 

[TaplowGreen]

Having treated my ladies to a show at the Royal Albert Hall recently, I had occasion to try out the refurbished seating in Coach A of the sleeper [travelling only as far as Exeter].

Both my wife and my daughter delivered a very definite 'thumbs down' to the very hard seats. Both said that, previously, they had easily been able to doze comfortably in their seat - but could not get comfortable enough in the new style seat. I have been told, in no uncertain terms that it'll be a Travelodge in future, returning home the following morning. 

........perfectly good Hilton at Paddington! 😉

[Jamsdad]

Cheaper to take the lovely sleeper berths than stay in London. But sitting up overnight? No thanks.

[PhilWakely]

Cheaper to take the lovely sleeper berths than stay in London. But sitting up overnight? No thanks.

I'd agree with that if travelling beyond Exeter - but when journey time is a little over three hours and you arrive at your destination still in the wee small hours, snoozing in a seat is preferable. Unfortunately, snoozing is not an option on the seats provided.

I believe that the seating accommodation is primarily for pax travelling from Plymouth into Cornwall or just within Cornwall.

[broadgage]

IIRC^▸ ('if I recall/remember/read correctly'), the recent refurbishment of the sleeper stock included higher density seating. Padded seats are now VERY last year !

[Umberleigh]

It’s wonderful to see the investment in the Sleeper service and associated station facilities (if not the actual motive power).

However, the reclining First Class seats and 2 +1 layout in the seated coaches will be sorely missed and are a retrograde step. It always felt a bit special coming back late from London in these coaches, now it just feels like a commuter train after dark.

[PhilWakely]

It’s wonderful to see the investment in the Sleeper service and associated station facilities (if not the actual motive power).

However, the reclining First Class seats and 2 +1 layout in the seated coaches will be sorely missed and are a retrograde step. It always felt a bit special coming back late from London in these coaches, now it just feels like a commuter train after dark.

I have been told that the seated coaches are designed for the Cornish leg of the Down sleeper - i.e: early commuters travelling relatively short distances.

[bradshaw]

May 13 from Journey Check

21:45 Penzance to London Paddington due 05:12
Facilities on the 21:45 Penzance to London Paddington due 05:12.
This is due to a shortage of trains because of extra safety inspections.
Additional Facilities Information
The sleeper service will be formed of a 9-car Intercity Express Train due to a fault on the original sleeper stock.
Additional Information
Due to a resourcing issue we are unable to operate this evenings Sleeper service between London Paddington and Penzance / Penzance and London Paddington.

We have arranged for this service to be supplemented by our regular High Speed train which will offer a Standard and First Class seating service only. There will be no accommodation facilities.
   

[bobm]

Think that might be the first time the sleeper has been replaced by an IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train - replacement for HSTs (manufactured by Hitachi in Kobe, Japan)) rather than an HST^▸ (High Speed Train (Inter City class 43 125 units)). Not that will much comfort for those involved. 

[bobm]

There could be quite a few sleeper coaches in Penzance in the morning!

[RobT]

Think that might be the first time the sleeper has been replaced by an IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train - replacement for HSTs (manufactured by Hitachi in Kobe, Japan)) rather than an HST^▸ (High Speed Train (Inter City class 43 125 units)). Not that will much comfort for those involved. 

Will be interesting to see how passengers cope with the rock-hard seats!

[grahame]

There could be quite a few sleeper coaches in Penzance in the morning!

Balancing working during today??

[bobm]

In all seriousness yes there will have to be although I haven’t seen one listed yet. 

There was one to move an IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train - replacement for HSTs (manufactured by Hitachi in Kobe, Japan)) from Plymouth to Penzance overnight so there haven’t been any cancellations this morning.