train travel in Scotland -1st class or 2nd?
 

We're traveling on the ScotRail Sleeper from London to Edinburgh and were wondering if the better accomodations offered in first class are worth the additional money. What differences has anyone seen between first class and second class?

Hi Carol: <BR>We took the GNER from London to Edinburgh Standard Class last April. Left at 7am and arrived at 1130am. Seats were comfortable enough and the train was not at all crowded. Plenty of room to stretch out. Traveled on a Tuesday. Didn't get a look at First Class but we got there the same time they did. <BR>John <BR>

Unless you just want the experience of taking a sleeper, you can save a lot of money taking the normal fast day trains. It only takes 4 - 4 1/2 hours. The overnight train actually pulls over and waits on a siding to make the journey long enough to warrant a sleeper.

I took the overnight ScotRail London&gt;Edinburgh&gt;Aberdeen alone, and had a second class double all to myself. Very comfortable, very VERY clean, nice conductor asked when I wanted to be awakened and when I wanted breakfast (beverage and a roll). <BR> <BR>It was February, so that may explain why the car was nearly empty and I had a double to myself. <BR> <BR>Didn't see the 1st class cabins, but can't imagine they'd be that much better to warrant the extra shekels.

I have taken the sleeper train to Edinburgh on 3 occasions. The first time, by myself, I got a 1st class, which contained only 1 bed, so there was more room(air space) in the cabin. & I think I slept better by having the room to myself, & got alittle better attention from the attendant. For me, that time, it was worth the extra money. As far as I know, all 1st class sleepers on this train have only 1 bed. <BR> <BR>The second time was with my wife, so we got a second class sleeper, which has 2 beds - upper & lower. So we had the cabin to ourselves. <BR> <BR>The third time, was with my wife & 10 year old son - 3 of us. We reserved 3 beds in 2 connecting 2nd class cabins. We had to do this far enough in advance so that connecting cabins were available. The catch is, there are 2 beds in each cabin - so that means we had 3 of the 4 beds. We could either pay for the 4th bed to have the cabins to ourselves or take a chance that nobody would be in the 4th bed. We didn't want to pay for the 4th bed. It ended up being a full train & the 4th bed was sold. My wife & son stayed in 1 & I in the other. They could not open the connecting door because of the rules, which is understandable. I had no problems sharing the room, especially since the guy was a local & taken the sleeper a number of times & think nothing of sharing the cabin. Luckily, he didn't snore, & he was as considerate as I tried to be, which is a neccessity in the confined spaces.

Bill has summed up the difference. There are marginal physical benefits between 1st and 2nd class but the main one is that you have a cabin to yourself. <BR> <BR>It really depends how much privacy you need. <BR> <BR>I would alos counse on Janis's point. If you're coming further north there may be some point in sleeper travel, or if you MUST travel after the theatre/opera or whatever, but the fast trains between London and Edinburgh almsot make the sleeper redundant

I agree that the fast day trains make the sleeper redundant in some respects, but you do save on a night's accommodation by getting a sleeper. These return (round trip) tickets cost as little as £60 from www.scotrail.com or co.uk.