Brand new carriages will no longer be coming to the Caledonian Sleeper’s Lowland service between London, Glasgow and Edinburgh this month as originally planned.
The operator has confirmed that although production of the new rolling stock is well advanced, it was still completing the “time-consuming and complex” process of testing and commissioning the new carriages.
The new units are now expected to be operating from all stations by the end of May next year.
In a statement on its website, Serco, which operates the service, said 40 of the 75 sleeper carriages being built by CAF were in the UK, with the rest expected to be delivered in the coming weeks.
Guests who have booked tickets on the Lowland services on or after October 28 have been offered a full refund or the opportunity to rebook.
Ryan Flaherty, Serco’s managing director at Caledonian Sleeper, said: “Our new trains will mark a magical new chapter in rail travel in the UK.
“The new sleeper carriages are absolutely superb, and will transform the experience of travelling by train between Scotland and England. We are sorry that we will not be able to launch the service this autumn, and understand that customers who wanted to travel on them in 2018 will be disappointed.
“But with five different accommodation types, as well as on board catering, dining and shower facilities, this is the most complex introduction of new rolling stock ever undertaken in the UK, and we are determined to get it right.”
