The Caledonian Sleeper – which connects London and Scotland with a sleeper train service is looking forward to a change of management and ownership as The Scottish Government and Serco.
Caledonian Sleeper train – Image, Caledonian Sleeper (Secrco)
Serco and The Scottish government signed a 15-year franchise, with a ‘rebase clause in year seven of the agreement that allowed for new costs to be negotiated.
It seems that both parties could not agree on terms. As such, the current franchise will end in 15th June 2023. No new party has been identified to take over the operation, so management will be returned to the Scottish Government.
In Quotes
John Whitehurst, Managing Director of Serco’s Transport business, said:
“When Serco took over the Caledonian Sleeper service in April 2015, we inherited an unreliable and outdated fleet of carriages dating back to the 1970s.
“We are extremely proud that under our leadership and management we have introduced new rolling stock and other significant innovations that have completely transformed the service. The service that Serco provides today is widely recognised as being outstanding, providing hotel standard service and accommodation that is renowned and admired around the world and loved by the people who travel on it. We thank the Minister for her warm words recognising the achievements of the Serco Caledonian Sleeper team.
“We note that the Government’s decision not to accept our proposals has not been made due to any performance issues; from Serco’s point of view the service has been loss-making over the life of the contract and the proposals that we made to Transport Scotland were to put it on a more sustainable financial footing. We will continue to work with Transport Scotland around options for the future management of the service and in the meantime will continue to deliver a world-class service for our guests.”
Speaking for the Scottish Government, Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth said in a statement to the Scottish Parliment
“I can confirm that today Serco Caledonian Sleepers Limited has been advised that its proposal to rebase the Franchise Agreement with Scottish Ministers for the provision of Caledonian Sleeper rail services has been rejected on the grounds of not representing value for money to the public.
“Additionally, I can confirm that a notice was served today which confirms that the Scottish Ministers will terminate the Franchise Agreement with Serco Caledonian Sleepers Limited on 25 June 2023.
“Work is underway to determine arrangements for the continued provision of Caledonian Sleeper rail services beyond 25 June 2023 and this will be updated to Parliament once determined.
“It is worth noting that Serco Caledonian Sleepers Limited has, broadly, delivered well and significantly improved Caledonian Sleeper services over the last 7 years.”
Delivering the big changes
Secro inherited British Rail rolling stock – namely Mark II Lounge/Seated cars and Mark III Sleeper coaches when it took over the operation. Since then, it has introduced the Mark V coaches manufactured by CAF which were designed for the operation.
Whilst there were issues with them entering service, it seems that the new rolling stock has settled down, providing Club cars with en-suite toilets, Normal sleeper (with shared facilities), along with lounge and seated accommodation.
The sleeper network has remained static, with The Highland Sleeper and Lowland Sleeper.
The Highland Sleeper travels from London to Edinburgh Waverley, splitting into three portions travelling onward to Fort William, Aberdeen and Inverness.
Meanwhile, the Lowland Sleeper divides at Carstairs, with half of the train going onto Glasgow Central and the other half going onto Glasgow Central.
There have been big changes – but it seems that money at the end of the day will drive the next changes for the Caledonian Sleeper.
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