Overnight sleeper train service between London and Scotland Caledonian Sleeper has received the first carriages from the new £100m (EUR 112.4 million) fleet of trains ahead of their introduction to service later this year. The new trains are currently being constructed by CAF in Spain. They will be the first sleeper trains to be introduced to the UK for over 35 years.
A total of five carriages have arrived at Glasgow, where they will start extensive testing over the coming months. The carriages come from the Velim Test Centre in the Czech Republic where they have been undergoing mandatory trials. These initial five carriages are still to be fitted out internally following testing. Fully fitted out carriages will arrive in the UK at a later date.
The fleet is designed to accommodate the modern-day traveller and cater to both business and leisure travel passengers. Starting in October 2018, the overnight rail service will begin to be transformed as 75 new carriages are introduced in a phased transition. The new trains will initially debut on the ‘Lowlander’ route between London and Glasgow/Edinburgh.
The introduction of new trains will be the culmination of a wide range of improvements and investment in Caledonian Sleeper since Serco took over the franchise on behalf of the Scottish Government in April 2015. These have had a dramatic impact on the service and after years of decline in patronage, the number of customer journeys has increased by 21%.
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