Ian Barratt said elderly riders struggled to walk the few hundred yards to their nearest communal toilet (Picture: Media Scotland )
Passengers of a luxury sleeper train left without running water have been left unable to wash – and even forced to use a communal toilet.
Only as people began boarding a Caledonian Sleeper train travelling from Scotland to London on Friday evening were they told some carriages would have no water.
For 12 hours, some punters couldn’t take a shower or use their private toilet as they headed down to Euston.
Ian Barratt, 81, from Maldon in Essex, says by the time he sat down for breakfast, he was ‘unshaven, unwashed and thirsty’.
Ian, who was heading home from a three-day stay in Inverness with his wife via the 8.30pm sleeper train, had paid £800 for the trip.
He said elderly passengers like himself had to walk ‘hundreds of yards’ to use a public toilet and had to contend with cans of spring water offered by ’embarrassed’ staff.
Private, en-suite bathrooms on the train weren’t working (Picture: Media Scotland)
Ian paid more than £400 for the journey from Scotland to London (Picture: Media Scotland)
Riders were offered canned spring water, according to Ian (Picture: Media Scotland)
‘One passenger claimed he had suffered a similar plight on four previous trips,’ he claimed.
‘A company spokesman apologised for the inconvenience but explained that the only maintenance depot was in London, so there was nothing else they could do but hand out cans of spring water.’
Train staff, he added, were surprised that some passengers hadn’t been informed about the water access issue before boarding.
‘But the first I knew was when we were about to board the train at 8.30,’ Ian said.
‘This kind of situation isn’t what one expects after paying over £800 for a return ticket. I feel this was a management failing.’
According to a fact sheet, Caledonian Sleeper offers riders a ‘relaxing, hassle-free’ trip that ends with them ‘refreshed and ready to take on the day’.
Club Room and Caledonian Double rooms, costing up to £290 and £410 respectively, have en-suite toilets and showers.
Caledonian Sleeper has been approached for comment.
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