Sleeper trains

David Horne, _the_ chancellor (*) wrote:
> S Viemeister <firstname@lastname.oc.ku> wrote:
>
>> James Silverton wrote:
>>
>>> I did also take a single sleeper many years ago from London to Oban,
>>> Scotland but I don't believe that train runs any more and I don't
>>> believe there were showers available.
>>>
>> The sleeper still goes to Fort William. There are no on-board showers,
>> but some of the stations have shower facilities.
>
> Most don't, and in my experience the ones at the mainline stations
> either don't open early enough, or are suddenly closed without notice.
>

It's never been a problem for me - I arrange for early check-in, or stay
with family. I know that Inverness has showers, and they've been open
most times I've gone through the station.

On 2008-06-30, Giovanni Drogo <drogo@rn.bastiani.ta.invalid> wrote:
>
> Unfortunately, at least in some countries, the national railways are no
> longer supporting sleepers that much. They are abandoning them in favour
> of low-cost planes, which to me seems silly.

The rail companies are not abandoning sleeper in favour of low-cost planes.
It's the passengers. And it's not silly, in many cases you can leave home
the same time as you for your sleeper, take a plane, check in to a hotel
for a proper nights sleep and be ready for action when the train pulls in -
for less money.

Today, in the age of fast trains and laptops, day time trains have also
gained on the sleepers. It will be faster than the sleeper, and you can
work while travelling.

On 2008-06-29, James Silverton <not.jim.silverton@verizon.not> wrote:
> Hello All!
>
> Today's Times of London had an article on sleeper trains. I wonder if
> any have recommendations for sleeper trips in Europe? A long time ago, I
> travelled from Hamburg to Basle by two-berth sleeper with a shower
> available. That's about my low limit.

If the shower was ensuite, you were on an ICN train. That is pretty much
the best you'll find on night trains.

On 2008-07-05, James Silverton <not.jim.silverton@verizon.not> wrote:
> Jesper wrote on 05 Jul 2008 19:51:41 GMT:
>
>> On 2008-06-29, James Silverton <not.jim.silverton@verizon.not>
>> wrote:
>>> Hello All!
>>>
>>> Today's Times of London had an article on sleeper trains. I
>>> wonder if any have recommendations for sleeper trips in
>>> Europe? A long time ago, I travelled from Hamburg to Basle by
>>> two-berth sleeper with a shower available. That's about my
>>> low limit.
>
>> If the shower was ensuite, you were on an ICN train. That is pretty
>> much the best you'll find on night trains.
>
> I guess "en suite" means a private shower but I recall it being shared
> by the carriage. Could I be wrong?

Not at all. There are many kinds of sleeper trains, and your trip might
have been before the ICN even went into service. So it should please you
to know that there are better trains out there than the one you took.

On that line today you might encounter a train with the two-berth
compartments arranged in double decker fashion. Those compartments
offer a sink and absolutely no room for your luggage.