The reality of a direct sleeper train between Scotland and mainland Europe is “an important first step” closer after a first stakeholder meeting to launch a feasibility study for the service, which would use the Channel Tunnel to connect major Scottish cities to European counterparts.
According to a press release by national agency Transport Scotland, it was joined in a working group by Caledonian Sleeper and Scottish Rail Holdings to explore ways to fulfill a Scottish government manifesto promise to improve train connections to Europe.
Caledonian Sleeper presently offers five northbound and southbound night trains between Scotland and travel south via regular English stops such as Preston, Crewe, Birmingham International to the UK capital, six times per week. Northbound services splinter to a range of Scotland’s most popular destinations including Aberdeen, Inverness, Fort William, Glasgow, and Edinburgh.
All southbound services terminate at London Euston, entailing a further transport connection to London St Pancras for onward journeys to Europe. The advent of a Scotland to Europe route that would remove the need to change to a connecting service could slash journey times and carbon guilt, easing Scottish travellers’ way to Lille, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, and beyond.
For Europeans, the service could open up Scottish “coolcation” itineraries, including Edinburgh’s famous castle and festival, coastal and island-hopping adventures, whisky, and golf tours, and the highlights of culture capital, Glasgow.
However, the feasibility study could raise challenges such as Channel Tunnel requirements for specialised security and border clearance facilities. Practical and customs constraints could see European destinations limited to major continental stations with existing border infrastructure, such as Paris Gare du Nord or Brussels-Midi/Zuid.
Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport, Stephen Flynn said he was pleased that this work was now underway, and hailed the establishment of the working group as “an important first step in delivering that commitment and will help ensure the feasibility study is informed by the expertise of our rail partners.”
Flynn also cautioned however, that this “is an early-stage exercise, and the study will focus on understanding the practical, technical and commercial considerations” of the project.
It is not the first time a Scottish-European sleeper train has been proposed. In the 1990s, a joint venture pushed by the UK’s Eurostar operator alongside the French (SNCF), German (DB), and Dutch (NS) national railways got as far as building advanced locomotives and coaches, but the project was binned in1997 due to rocketing costs, and a changing marketplace amid the rise of budget airlines.
In contrast, the new proposition comes at a time when night trains are an increasingly popular form of transport, in a competitive sector tapping into passengers’ climate concerns and trends for more experiential travel.
