Another nightmare for passengers on Caledonian sleeper service

Passengers on the Caledonian Sleeper were woken up and told to leave the train at Stafford yesterday in the latest mishap to hit the new service.

The overnight Lowlander service from London to Scotland was forced to a halt in the West Midlands due to a “technical issue” in the early hours.

Some 150 passengers who had paid for double beds and comfort seats were offered replacement coaches and trains to take them the remaining 260 miles to Edinburgh and Glasgow. They were promised full refunds after the problem – caused by damage to the wheels of the train – delayed them by up to five hours.

Last night’s service from Glasgow and Edinburgh to London was cancelled as a result of the fault.

Ryan Flaherty, the managing director of Caledonian Sleeper, said: “We are working to understand the cause of this problem and we apologise to all guests affected.”

It is the latest in a series of problems that have plagued Caledonian Sleeper’s new £150million fleet after it entered service in late April.

Trains have been cancelled or delayed on more than a third of the days the Serco-operated service has run, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union is reportedly planning to ballot staff on whether to take strike action over conditions on the new trains, which it says are causing stress.