Travel by train isn’t a huge thing here in the U.S. When we want to go from Point A to Point B, we usually drive. Or if it’s a further distance, fly.
But in Europe, train travel is a normal part of life. And sometimes, depending on circumstances, an overnight ride on a sleeper train can work best with some peoples’ plans.
Well, except when they don’t.
Jim Metcalfe, a resident of Scotland, rides the Caledonian Sleeper train regularly. He was riding it overnight from Scotland to London, one of the many work-related trips he’s taken on the line in the past decade and a half. It’s a 345-mile journey that takes 7.5 hours – passengers can start boarding at 10pm on the evening of departure, and they stay on board until 7:30am the next morning.
Metcalfe usually falls asleep before the train even leaves the station, and is typically woken up by a staff member serving a light breakfast shortly before the train reaches London.
However, this time Metcalfe woke up to his typically sausage and coffee, but was a little shocked to realize the train hadn’t moved all night long – he was still in Scotland!
Metcalfe said he the service tweeted the night he boarded that the ride was still on. They let people board, and then just…left them there. From his Twitter account:
Cal Sleeper tweeted that the service was on last night, let people board, and just left us sitting here all night. They let everyone get in and go to sleep, and just left us here.
I’m travelling for work. It’s hard to even know what to say…
— Jim Metcalfe (@jim_metcalfe) July 20, 2022
Apparently, Caledonian Sleeper DID eventually tweeted about the incident, albeit a little after midnight GMT – Metcalfe was already fast asleep on the train.
Please visit https://t.co/mWsYCUG6Cx for full details, where information will be provided on the use of our trains to provide overnight accommodation. Please accept our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience this will cause. 2/2
— Caledonian Sleeper (@CalSleeper) July 19, 2022
To clarify the situation, Kathryn Darbandi, Serco’s managing director for Caledonian Sleeper, said: “We apologise to guests affected by the cancellation of our overnight services between Scotland and London.
“This was due to a fault identified on the line, late in the evening, related to the extreme temperatures causing problems across the network, which were outside of our control.
“We made all efforts to support guests impacted, including providing overnight accommodation on board and options for travel on alternative rail services the next day. All guests will receive a full refund.”
Metcalfe, to his credit, took the incident in stride. In fact, he even praised the Caledonian Sleeper staff, saying: “I would say in a really difficult situation, the onboard train staff were really calm and professional and handled it as best they could.”
He added: “I just went home, for me it was a minor inconvenience.”
Feature Photo: Caledonian Sleeper
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1 comment
That is Funny. Thanks for the needed Tuesday laugh