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Caledonian Sleeper: Inside the new luxury train to Scotland – with double beds, en-suite bathrooms and reclining seats

It’s the first time the sleeper service will offer double beds

Helen Coffey
Thursday 11 April 2019 07:28 EDT
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Caledonian Sleeper train unveils 100m new look

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Travelling to Scotland in style is about to get easier, as a new luxury fleet of Caledonian Sleeper trains has just been unveiled.

It’s the first time the sleeper service will offer double beds, alongside other high-end features, such as en-suite bathrooms, reclining seats and hotel-style key cards.

The idea is for it to feel more like a hotel than a train, with compartments also offering upmarket toiletries, dimmable lights, reading lamps and an adjustable thermostat next to the bed.

Special guests were given a first-look on the maiden voyage from Glasgow to Edinburgh, before the trains are fully rolled out at the beginning of June.

The £100m fleet consists of 75 new carriages, which will replace the current trains made in the Eighties, to transport passengers between London and Scotland.

The trains will launch first on the Lowlander route between London and Glasgow and Edinburgh, before starting on the Highlander route between London and Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William.

There’s a choice of bedroom, with various types of singles, twins and doubles, as well as more accessible rooms available. Prices range from £45 for a “comfort seat” to upwards of £400 for double rooms.

“There’s something quite magical about going to sleep at one end of the country and then waking up – whether it’s waking up in the capital in London, whether it’s waking up in the Highlands – it’s just a tremendous experience,” said Ryan Flaherty, managing director of Caledonian Sleeper.

“We are blessed with really good staff who offer a really warm welcome, we’ve now a really comfortable, modern train and that’s supported by a really interesting food and drink offer, so actually we are the smart choice for people travelling between London and Scotland.”

He added that staff were “beside ourselves with excitement about the launch of the new trains".

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