The Railway Magazine – July 2019

Club Twin cabin with two beds set up. These cabins also feature an en suite wet room with shower and toilet.

Vestibules are brightly lit and welcoming, and feature
an information screen confirming the time and

destination.PAUL SMITH

Club Car seating is arranged in convivial booths for groups and individual stools for solo passengers.PAUL SMITH

All CS Mk5 coaches are fitted with Dellner automatic

couplers and can only be hauled by locomotives with

compatible couplers.BEN JONES

housed in a separate wet room, although

careful planning and execution is required
for two people to carryout their morning

ablutions and retain any sort of dignity!
The shower works on a timed push

button and while it lasts more than long
enough to get a good wash, my experience

confirmed that of other early passengers
who were rudely awoken by a ‘refreshing’

cold shower. It appears you have to be an
early riser to get in before the hot water

runs out.
However, the en suite facilities do make

a big difference and allow you to emerge
refreshed from your cabin on arrival,

without that slightly grubby feeling that
will be familiar to anyone who has travelled

overnight by train.
Having enjoyed and endured a wide

variety of overnightexperiences in numerous
countries over the last 20 years, any romantic

illusions about sleeping car trains were

banished long ago!

I was intrigued to see how the new CS

trains would compare to the best of what

is currently on offer in Europe and their

predecessors.

Quality feel

Overall, I was impressed – the Mk5s

deliver a welcoming environment with a

quality feel and, size limitations aside, the

cabins are comfortable and well-appointed.

I slept well and felt more rested than usual

after a night on the move.

There have been some reports of build

quality issues, space restrictions and noisy

HVAC (air con), but these were not evident

on our trip. However, anyone travelling with

large suitcases will find it difficult as there’s

not much space under the bottom berth and

no other obvious place to stow them.

My only other reservation was the ride

quality, which is best described as ‘busy’. In

both the Club Car and Sleeping Car we rode

directly over the bogie, and the ride was

noticeably more jittery than a Mk2 or Mk3

in similar circumstances.

The Club Car is destined to remain a

favourite with regular users, or a treat for

those of us who only visit occasionally, and

the new features such as accessible cabins

and double beds should attract the more

international clientele CS is seeking.

On the strength of this first trip,

Caledonian Sleeper appears to be well

on the way to delivering its ambition of

transforming the passenger experience on its

overnight trains – as long as those teething

troubles are resolved quickly.

It’s also a far more civilised way to travel

than trudging to an airport for an early

morning low-cost flight! ■

TRAINTEST

46 •The Railway Magazine• July 2019