Oh, the romance, people think. What a stylish, sexy way to travel! On a train - yet in a bed! Whenever the term “sleeper train” is mentioned, the first images conjured up are a sort of 1930s sophistication. Which is odd, because anyone who has travelled in this way should have indelible impressions of sleeplessness, stiff neck and empty wallet.
No matter. Fans of the sleeper train - and there are still a few - will be out in force if fresh proposals come to anything. For amid plans to save £6.5 billion from the annual railways subsidy is the notion that Britain’s remaining sleeper services could be quietly done away with.
The route most immediately under threat is the “Night Riviera” from Paddington to Penzance. But the Scottish trains from Euston to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Fort William are under scrutiny, too.
The truth, it appears, is that sleepers lose money by the bucketload. The Night Riviera is reported to lose £1 million a year; the Scottish services, as much as £20 million. Would it really be such a terrible thing if they were to go? Why yes, is the response of Julia Goldworthy, Lib Dem MP for Falmouth and Camborne. “The sleeper is very important to local businesses because it is the only way to get to London for an early meeting,” she says.
For any of the rest of us non-business people who have actually travelled in this manner, the response may not be quite so enthusiastic. My family went through a phase of sleeper enthusiasm in the days when slogging from London to Scotland was still quite a big deal. The memories burn weirdly bright: a claustrophobically narrow cabin; a short ladder to the top bunk which toppled over when climbed; a very thin pillow bearing the British Rail logo.
More: telegraph.co.uk
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