End of line for long train to Scotland

Overnight train travel could soon become part of British history. Photo / Supplied

Shortly after nine in the evening, Britain's most remarkable train shudders its way out of London's Euston station.

It's a struggle to get moving because the 9.15pm overnight train to Scotland is the country's longest, stretching almost half a kilometre and made up of rolling stock four decades old. The fear is that the day is not far off when it ceases to leave at all.

The train's first three stops - Watford Junction, Crewe and Preston - hardly hint at the wonders to come. At the next stop, Edinburgh, no passengers join or leave. But with much shunting and clunking, the Highland Sleeper divides into three, going to Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William, each train with its own buffet car.

The passengers are varied: business people working in Aberdeen, civil servants shuttling between London and Inverness, the administrative centre of north Scotland; and tourists heading for the West Highlands.

When dawn breaks, some will awake to find themselves on the line that clings to Scotland's East Coast, others will be high in the Grampians, with great swoops to come on the run down to the Moray Firth.

The luckiest will awake to find themselves amid the beautiful desolation of Rannoch Moor, where the West Highland Line is the only form of transport through the wilderness.

Every passenger benefits from big subsidies. For a bed, breakfast and 800km of Britain's most civilised travel, some will have paid as little as £19 ($40), a fraction of the real cost. Each departure of the Highland Sleeper and its Lowland counterpart, serving Edinburgh and Glasgow, earns a subsidy of £17,000, dwarfing the amount raised in fares.

At the time of rail privatisation, intense political pressure ensured the continuation of Caledonian Sleeper services. Overnight links from London to Scotland formed part of the franchise specification. But as spending cuts take effect, the last departure of the 21.15 from Euston could arrive on April Fool's Day, 2014.

That's because in less than three years, both First ScotRail's contract for rail passenger services and the funding arrangements for Network Rail in Scotland expire. Transport Scotland has published a consultation document on the future, focusing on "delivering customer outcomes at a lower subsidy cost", which could see northern Scotland disconnected from London.

Passenger demand on the nation's 2800km of railway has risen 25 per cent in the past seven years, to 78 million - but the average subsidy to each passenger is almost £9, while the typical fare paid is £3.30. In the latest financial year, almost £300 million of the annual subvention of £659 million went to First ScotRail for running trains, including £21 million for the Caledonian Sleepers.

The options being considered include "removing the Highland or Lowland service, or by running the Lowland services to and from Edinburgh only". The latter would anger the business community in Glasgow, who've already seen their flight options to Heathrow cut.

Another option is to divert the Fort William service to Oban, the hub for the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry service to the Western Isles. Transport Scotland is also considering offering the overnight services as a separate franchise to encourage new entrants and investment.

The day services connecting Aberdeen and Inverness with London King's Cross are also under threat, to be replaced by an "Edinburgh hub" - with everything north of the capital under Scottish control.

The Government is likely to consider closing some stations and removing facilities from others. Sixteen Scottish stations handle fewer than 10 passengers a week.

Overall, though, the closures will be balanced with an equal number of new stations. Individual routes could also be targeted. Even in the busy Central Belt, on a typical train between Motherwell and Cumbernauld, nine out of 10 seats are empty.

Great rail trips

St Petersburg-Moscow

These days you can choose from any of 30 daily flights each way between the former and present Russian capitals, or high-speed trains that cover the 640km in four hours. But one consequence of capitalism is that the traveller can choose from seven competing overnight trains, taking a civilised eight hours and offering indulgences fit for a tsar.

Mumbai-Delhi

Despite the encroachment of low-cost airlines, Indian Railways remains the world's biggest transport undertaking. And dining, then being lilted to sleep on an overnight train between the two great cities, is an excellent way to acquaint yourself with the country.

Washington DC-Chicago

The railroads built America, but its people have largely turned their backs on trains. Nevertheless, the heavily subsidised Amtrak organisation still runs some overnight services, such as the 18-hour marathon Capitol Limited. With a mid-afternoon departure from Washington and a 9am arrival in Chicago, the journey allows plenty of daylight for sightseeing.

- INDEPENDENT