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NIGHT RIVERIA SLEEPER
The route (in a nutshell)
Runs every night except Saturdays a sleeper service runs between London Paddington and Cornwall stopping at stations long the way. Timings vary according to station but generally speaking London-bound trains arrive by 7am and Penzance-bound trains arrive by 8am. If you are on a budget reclining seats are also available but don’t offer use of the lounge car.
Facilities onboard (the useful stuff)
Standard class single Single berths include an on demand TV service that shows a range of programmes. Each berth has a sink and toiletries pack and there are 2 toilets on each carriage. There are no showers onboard but these are available at most stations.
The food car is available to all sleeper passengers and serves reasonably priced food & drink. In the morning all sleeper ticket holders are given a complimentary light breakfast and newspaper. Bicycles are carried free-of-charge but spaces are limited.
Prices
Prices start at £49 per person for a single berth and £69 per person for a twin berth. Unlike the Caledonian if you are travelling alone you can’t share with a stranger so must pay full price if sole occupancy of a twin room. Reclining seats start at £25 one-way advance. To book visit First Great Western.
The Night Riviera sleeper train is a miniature travelling hotel, with private sleeper compartments & lounge car. The sleeper compartments are compact but cosy, with an upper & lower berth in twin rooms or just one lower berth in single rooms, plus a washbasin with hot & cold running water. The beds come with a snug duvets (a welcome replacement for the traditional blankets), fresh clean sheets & plump pillows. Soap, towel and a small bottle of mineral water are provided for each passenger. There are two toilets at the end of the corridor in each sleeping-car which you can use at all times, even when the train is standing in the station. There's a lounge car with tables & chairs and a buffet counter selling wine, beer, spirits, soft drinks & snacks. A light breakfast with tea or coffee & fruit juice is included in the fare, served by your steward in your compartment at the time you specify. The Night Riviera also has ordinary seats, in fact the seats are extra-roomy reclining first class ones sold at standard class prices, but a sleeper berth is recommended. Like all British trains, the Night Riviera is all non-smoking.
Night Riviera sleeper fares...
There are two ways to buy a sleeper ticket:
- Option 1, buy a special inclusive Sleeper Advance ticket specifically for the sleeper between London & Cornwall.
- Option 2, buy a normal ticket to or from Cornwall and pay the sleeper berth supplement on top.
Option 1: Special inclusive sleeper fares...
There are special inclusive fares for travel on the Night Riviera sleeper train between London and any station in Cornwall.
| Sleeper Advance fares... | ||
| One-way fares... | Sole occupancy of a single berth sleeper | For travel in a twin berth sleeper |
| London to Plymouth, Truro, Newquay, Penzance, St Ives or any station in Cornwall | From £49 to £109 | From £69 to £169 total for two people |
- These Sleeper Advance fares must be booked in advance, no refunds, limited changes to travel plans allowed.
- By all means buy a Sleeper Advance ticket in one direction & a normal Advance ticket for a daytime train in the other.
- The price rises as the cheaper tickets are sold, so book early (maximum 12 weeks in advance). Mid-week will usually be cheaper than Friday nights, February cheaper than August.
- Children under 16 go for 50% of the adult Sleeper Advance fare. Children under 5 free, though they don't get their own berth.
- Railcard holders get no further discount on these Sleeper Advance fares.
Option 2: Normal ticket + sleeper supplement...
- The sleeper supplement is £50 for a 1-berth room, £35 per person for a 2-berth room.
- If you have a normal standard class Anytime or Off-peak ticket to or from Cornwall (for example, London to St Ives, Penzance to London, Cambridge to Falmouth, Canterbury to Truro, Croydon to Newquay and so on...) or for that matter a BritRail pass or all-line Rail Rover, you can travel in a sleeper berth simply by paying this sleeper supplement. You cannot upgrade to a sleeper if you have an Advance ticket.
- Passengers travelling alone pay £50 and get a single room all to themselves. Unlike the sleepers to Scotland, if you're travelling alone you're no longer allowed to share a 2-berth room with another passenger, you must pay for sole occupancy of a single room. However, unlike the Scottish sleepers, you no longer need a first class ticket to travel in a single room all to yourself, a standard class ticket is all you need.
- If there's two of you, you can either pay £35 per person and share a 2-berth room with upper & lower berths or pay £50 per person and ask for two adjacent single rooms (both with lower berths, of course) with inter-connecting door.
- There's no reduction on sleeper berth supplements for children if they want a separate bed, although they pay the child-rate fare. More information on children in sleepers.
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How to buy sleeper tickets...
- You can now book sleeper berths on the Night Riviera online using the online booking system above. This links towww.thetrainline.com, who charge a £1 booking fee for debit cards or £3.50 with credit cards. You can also book atwww.firstgreatwestern.com, which has the same fares but with no booking fee. Tickets can be sent free by first class post to any UK address, or picked up from the self-service machines at most main British stations (50p charge).
- Bookings normally open 12 weeks before departure, sometimes less than this, you can't book before reservations open!
- An error message often means that bookings haven't opened yet - try calling to ask them.
- To buy sleeper tickets to or from Cornwall by phone, call First Great Western telesales on 08457 000 125, lines open 07:00-22:00 Monday-Friday, 08:00-19:00 Saturday & Sunday.
- You can also buy tickets at most main railway stations.
- If you live outside the UK, you can't access UK '0845' numbers from overseas, so call First Great Western Telesales on their international number, +44 1752 835705.
Children...
- Children under 5 go free, although they don't get their own berth. Cots can't be provided as there's insufficient room, but a Samsonite travel bubble fits on the floor for babies up to 18 months an is great for hotel rooms, too. A 2- or 3-year old can sleep quite comfortably head-to-toe with an adult in the lower berth. If you can get the little so-and-so to sleep when he's so excited about being on a sleeper train, of course.
- If you want a separate berth for a child under 5 you'll need to pay for a child-rate Sleeper Advance ticket or a child-rate normal ticket plus the adult sleeper supplement. Two children under 5 can share a bed for the price of one child-rate Sleeper Advance ticket or one child-rate normal ticket plus one adult berth supplement.
- Children under 16 go for 50% of the adult fare if you buy a Sleeper Advance ticket. Or they can travel for 50% of the normal adult fare plus the adult berth supplement for the bed. Two children 5-15 sharing a bed must pay two child fares but need only pay one sleeper supplement as they're only using one bed.
Luggage, bikes, dogs & pets...
- Luggage: Sleepers are very compact, but there's room for small & medium-sized bags and cases on the luggage racks or on the floor if necessary, though very large suitcases are best placed in the guard's van.
- Bicycles: You can take bikes on the Night Riviera sleeper train free of charge, placed in one of the three special bike racks in the guard's van. A bike reservation must be made as the number of bike spaces is limited. To reserve your bike, call First Great Western on 0845 678 6980, lines open 08:00-22:00 daily. Tandems aren't carried.
- Dogs & pets: Guide dogs travel free, other dogs are not allowed in sleepers although they can travel in a pet carrier in the guard's van.
- Cars & motorbikes: The Night Riviera no longer carries cars or motorbikes.
Station lounge at London Paddington...
- At London Paddington, all sleeper berth passengers may use the First Class Lounge, located half way along platform 1, which is the platform normally used by the Night Riviera sleeper, see the photo below. The lounge is open 05:30 to 23:55 Monday-Friday and 16:00 to 23:55 on Sundays, just show your sleeper ticket to enter. The lounge features complimentary wine, soft drinks, fruit juice, tea & coffee, biscuits, fruit & nuts. It has easy chairs, tables, and workstations with charging points for laptops and mobiles. One quiet section of the lounge (around to the right as you enter) features leather armchairs and occupies what was originally Queen Victoria's waiting room, beautifully restored.
Showers, toilets, power sockets...
- There are two toilets at the end of the corridor in each sleeping-car which you can use at all times, even when the train is standing in the station. There are no toilets in the sleeper compartments.
- There are no showers on the sleeper train itself, but there's a shower facility in the main station toilets at London Paddington which is free if you have a sleeper berth ticket. Travel tip: The toilet attendants aren't always very clued up about this, so be polite but firm.
- There are no power sockets in the sleeper compartments, just a 2-pin 240V shaver socket, but in practice you can use this for recharging your mobile phone if you have a 2-pin adaptor. There are laptop and mobile charging points in the First Class Lounge at London Paddington.
- CPAP machines: Unfortunately, there are no power sockets on the sleeper suitable for medical machines such as CPAP used by people with breathing problems such as sleep apnea.
Wheelchair-accessible sleepers...
Unfortunately there are no wheelchair-accessible sleeper berths on the Night Riviera, unlike the sleeper to Scotland, although there are wheelchair spaces in the seating coaches.
Inter-connecting doors between sleeper compartments...
There is an inter-connecting door between each pair of adjacent sleeper compartments, normally kept locked shut. You can book two adjacent 2-berth compartments with an inter-connecting door between them to make a 4-berth suite, or you can book two adjacent single-berth compartments with an inter-connecting door to make a suite with two lower berths (but 3-berth suites aren't possible because of the way the compartments are paired). You can work out which berth numbers have the connecting door like this: Berths 1 & 2 have a connecting door with berths 3 & 4. Berths 5 & 6 have a connecting door with berths 7 & 8. Berths 9 & 10 have a door with berths 11 & 12. And so on, up to berths 21 & 22 having an inter-connecting door with berths 23 & 24. Travel tip: When asking for two compartments with an inter-connecting door, ask which berth numbers you've been allocated and make sure they are indeed two communicating compartments before hanging up the phone, as telesales staff don't always get it right. However, on board staff are excellent, and can usually sort out any problem.
First Class Lounge at London Paddington: All sleeper berth passengers can use the First Class Lounge before departure or in the morning on arrival, open 05:30-23:55 Mon-Fri & 16:00-23:55 Sundays, half way along platform 1, the platform used by the Night Riviera. The lounge has complimentary tea, coffee, wine, soft drinks, snacks, fruit, newspapers & magazines. There are charging points for laptops & mobiles. This shows the 'modern' part of the lounge, the 'classic' part features leather armchairs in what was originally Queen Victoria's waiting room.