From February 26, in contradiction to the franchise agreement above Caledonian Sleeper is imposing a new fare structure which severely penalises the single traveller. Currently a single traveller can share a two berth cabin and pay the same as one of a couple who had booked together.
From Monday 26th February, the only option for a single traveller is to buy a Classic Solo ticket which replaces the First Class travel option and gives you a single occupancy cabin. For travel after 25th February a sleeper ticket for the single traveller will be £140 for most journeys rather than the £85 that would have been charged in the past, as two people will continue to pay between them £170 for a two-berth cabin.
Why is this important?
The rise in price of 65% is far above the inflation increases that have been applied to controlled fares across the rail network There is no indication that the new sleeper trains will arrive on February 26 so the same coaches will be in use but priced differently. Even if new carriages had been promised for this date we know of no precedent for raising fares when replacing old rolling stock.
We are asking Caledonian Sleeper to continue to use their twin-berth cabins for passengers who are happy to share and who prefer a more economical fare than “First Class” or “Classic Solo”. This would be more economical and encourage more people to take the Greener option and travel on the sleeper rather than flying.
