Anyone use a Rail pass to pay for the overnight Caledonian Sleeper?

Hi,

I know this is not an answer specifically to your question. I have used a rail pass several times on a night train between Austria, France, and Germany and within Germany but never opted for a sleeper or couchette. That's an additional expense/luxury not covered by the Pass, which is not necessary for me. I sit in the general seating area or in a six seat compartment, always 2nd class and always reserved the seat, cost 4,50 Euro min. (The conductor will want to that seat reservation.) That's the absolute cheapest way to go, the rail pass allows you to board but you have pay extra for the seat reservation.

As far as I know, there is no European rail pass that covers the cost of any sleeping accommodation. Even the 2nd-class couchettes (padded ledges, not what you think of as a "sleeper") cost extra. The cost of a berth in a real sleeping compartment is not low; it can be about as much as a modest hotel room and will certainly be less comfortable. Given that you can travel from Edinburgh to London in as little as 4 hr. 20 min., I would not even consider a sleeper on the overnight train.

The only two overnight trains I found on the National Rail website arrive in London around 7 AM. One of them (I assume not the one you are considering) has a 4-1/2 hour layover in York, beginning at 12:14 AM. You'll arrive too early to do much of anything in London and won't have slept particularly well. You'll have the hassle of stashing your luggage somewhere and retrieving it later or making a trip to your hotel just to drop off the luggage.

You need to pay the berth supplement if traveling on a Britrail pass for both the Caledonian and Night Riviera sleepers.

Regarding the difference between First and Standard, there is a significant difference. One of the prime differences is that only one person is accommodated in First Class compartments. If you are two the only option is a Standard compartment or seat.

Have you seen
https://www.sleeper.scot/on-board/accommodation
and
https://www.seat61.com/CaledonianSleepers.htm
with all sorts of great information and lots of photos and videos?

By the way, regarding the comment above about an overnight stop in York made by the train I can't see how that is possible as the Sleeper runs down the West Coast Mainline from Carlisle through Preston and Crewe. York is way over to the east on the East Coast Mainline.

The berth supplement referred to by Marco is £75 per adult.

Nigel, that York transfer is on a 9 PM departure that showed up on nationalrail.co.uk when I asked for a Monday (Dec 19) departure at 8 PM. It probably doesn't carry sleeper cars; I forgot to check that. No sane person would choose to travel from Edinburgh to London that way, especially considering you'd pay £151.50 for the Anytime Fare. Maybe it's one of those trips on which you'd save a lot of money by splitting the ticket.

acraven

the combination you found is not related to the Caledonian Sleeper. It is a normal East Coast train from Aberdeen to Leeds which stops in both Edinburgh and York (just after midnight). The second leg is the first of the day's normal East Coast train originating in York to Kings Cross. The over 4 hours wait at York is not part of the plan. No East Coast trains have anything other than normal seats.

Only trains in the UK with sleeper facilities are the Caledonian Sleeper from London Euston to Scotland and the Riviera Express from London Paddington to Cornwall. All other British trains only have normal seats.

Thanks, Nigel. I figured that, but I didn't see the term "Caledonian Sleeper" anywhere so wasn't totally sure.

I miss the Cook's timetable that had the little pictures of beds and couchettes right there for all to see, though I don't remember whether the named trains were identified in the timetable.

Thank you everyone I appreciate the pointers since this is all new to me and yes the early morning trips that are about 4.5 hours seem like the best bet and I would have the view during the trip to enjoy. :)