The Night Riviera



The train to and from the far South West during the day is normally a High Speed Train (or Intercity 125 for those of you old enough to remember that name) and it normally takes 5.5 hours to reach Penzance. The last train of the day (Monday to Saturday) is a different story though, it's a sleeper and takes far longer (8hrs 15 mins) but you do get a bit more comfort for your time and money. The tickets go on sale three months in advance, so you need to book around this time to get the cheapest fares, and once these are gone they do go up in price rather quickly. There is now only standard class First having done away with 1st class which was probably sensible given the minimal difference between the two (which was mostly price). So I booked my journey as soon as I knew I had to make the trip, about a month and a half before it and paid about £60 one way.

The tickets can be booked over the internet or at a train station, I chose to go to Paddington station to get them because I was passing. It used to be possible to when booking to specify where on the train you wanted to sleep (which cabin/berth) in the reservations system but following an upgrade to the system this is no longer possible.

Each Sleeper carriage of train is split into 12 Cabins each containing one or two Berths (Beds) and it is only possible to share a cabin if you are travelling with a friend. You will no longer find yourself sharing a cabin with a stranger, FGW have rather sensibly done away with this. The cabins to hope for are in the middle of the carriage and then the closer you get to each end the less attractive they become.

So in order of preference:
6 & 7 – Middle of the train, lowest train movement felt here.
8 & 5 – Middle of the train, lowest movement felt here
9 & 4 – Middle of the train, lowest movement felt here
10 & 3 – Door in corridor makes a noise when it swings that may wake you up.
11 & 2 – Door in corridor makes a noise when it swings that may wake you up.
12& 1 – Closest to the ends of the carriage and above the wheels here



If you are lucky you may find yourself with reservations for a cabin between 4 - 9 but I am told that the system offers the cabins in numerical order so booking late may not be such an advantage, if you end up in 10,11 or 12. There is also a seated portion of the train (one or two coaches can't remember) with the old comfortable British Rail first class seats (with recline) fitted and there is a buffet.



If you find you can sleep well in a seat then you might save some money by buying tickets (standard only) for these carriages.

So having booked reasonably early I found myself holding a reservation for Cabin 5, to help get a good nights sleep I packed the earplugs and Noise Cancelling Headphones, just in case. The Friday night of my trip I arrived at Paddington at around 9:30pm an hour before boarding begins and did some last minute shopping at Boots and WHSmith. I then walked to the 1st Class Lounge which is available to all Sleeper customers holding berth reservations, but not those travelling in the seated accommodation on board.

There are two parts to the Lounge, there is the new large modern area which features a television (showing news) and seating, and the smaller Victorian lounge that is filled with comfortable Chesterfield sofas. Both have snacks and soft drinks but in my experience the smaller one is usually closed off by the time sleeper passengers arrive. I therefore sat in the larger lounge,




and had a fruit juice whilst reading the evening paper, watching as passengers slowly came in. I then had a hot chocolate shortly before the lounge dragon came in and informed us that the train was boarding.

The Locomotive that brought the train in.

The train


Boarding involves your carriage attendant checking you off the list they have, asking for your breakfast order and when you want waking up. This has to be within about 20mins of arriving at your destination stop, so if you are getting off a few stops from the terminus this could be quite early. The attendant will then show you to your cabin, being there first has the advantage that you are less likely to be waiting for the them to return from the last passenger to check you in. The train carriages themselves are a bit old having been built by British Rail (they're Mark 3 for any serious train fanatics) but have been given a new exterior vinyl covering by FGW and they are used only on this service.

View of corridor down carriage

The corridor along the side of the cabins is not huge and there is a door towards each end of the carriage which helps reduce space further. As you board you will either see doors to 2 toilets


The toilets


Sign outside toilets

or an attendants room depending upon which end that you get on from.

The cabins are not huge, the entire carriage is only 2.74m wide and so space is obviously at a premium however it's not uncomfortable by any means. The main features of the cabins are a bed (or two), a large wide cream shelf, a smaller shelf higher up, a video monitor is attached to the underside of this, clothes hanging space and a pull out table by the bed. Both sides of the cream shelf can be lifted, the side over the bed to allow more room, the other in front of the window to reveal a hidden sink.


Sink
There is also a connecting door that links you with the next door cabin, 1 with 2, 3 with 4 etc. which if you are travelling with a companion next door can be unlocked. This door has a fixed hanger attached to it and there is another one on the wall next to it.


Hangers and connecting door
There is a long half width mirror on the back of the main door, and above this there are two coat hooks.

Under the sink there is a waste bin and to the side of the sink there is a half length thin mirror with a towel rail beneath this and a white hand towel provided. The window is above the sink and has a pull down blind to cover it, in the morning having this up shows the beautiful Cornish countryside going by. Above the window there is a shaver socket an emergency alarm, a window hammer and space for a bottle of water and a couple of plastic glasses (the water from the tap is not drinking water).


Window and ITE screen

The lighting controls, mesh pocket with safety instructions and Volo remote.

The bed is sheets and a blanket with two pillows on top of a mattress which is reasonably comfortable, if not up to the standards of a hotel or even your own bed at home. There is also a very well filled amenity kit containing: Emerelle Spa Soap, Emerelle Spa Body Lotion, Shaving Cream & Razor, 3M 1100 Foam Ear Plugs, Shoe Shine, Moist Towlette, Face Cloth, Eyeshades, Tissues, Vanity Kit (Emery Board, Q Tips, Cotton Wool Pads), Sewing Kit.

The bed with amenity kit and FGW magazine and table (still in wall)

As you lie in bed on the side of the wall just beside you there is a mesh pocket which can hold books magazines etc, further down is a small table that folds out from the wall and also a remote control for the tv monitor. On the other side there is a small floor to ceiling column separating you from the door which has a reading light with controls for that, the main room light and the air-conditioning.



There is also a headphone socket here for the television monitor, which is for viewing VOD from the ITE (in train entertainment) system attached to it. There is an impressive range of content from factual to comedy to drama available and I watched a good documentary on the band Queen. There are no headphones provided but you can bring your own, should you forget or don't have any they are available from the buffet (I'm unsure how much or indeed the brand available). This is the Volo system that was originally trialled on a regular FGW carriage (although that was a pay per view), and it is good to see they have managed to find a use for it elsewhere.

If you would rather spend time socialising there is a lounge carriage that is for the use of sleeper passengers only.

The lounge car with table lamps which seated pax do not get.

This is a (mark 3) First Class buffet carriage with tables and lamps, and I understand all the usual buffet food and drink. Personally I didn't use the lounge carriage preferring to watch the documentary in bed in my cabin. Before this finished, as it was getting late I turned off the VOD and I slept for about 7 hours and was woken up by the attendant with breakfast. I was only having museli (Alpen) and orange juice due to boring dietary requirements but there was a lot more on offer, and finished the documentary.



I left the train at Redruth to continue on with my journey, all in all it was a very enjoyable journey and one that I will happily do again.

It is nice to see that First Great Western have made a big effort to refresh the sleeper, e.g. the ITE and the fact that the complimentary breakfast has been improved.