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93-547: The Night Riviera is a sleeper train operated by Great Western Railway (GWR). It is one of only two sleeper services on the railway in the United Kingdom (the other being the Caledonian Sleeper services between London and Scotland). The Night Riviera runs six nights a week (Sunday–Friday) between London Paddington and Penzance with one train in each direction. The first sleeping car train on

186-625: A Night Riviera set operated a service to Oxford in February 2010. After the closure of Old Oak Common TMD in December 2017, Penzance TMD became the home depot for maintenance of the rolling stock. At the London end, the stock is serviced at Reading TMD . A second Class 57 is attached to the rear of the London-bound train at Reading which then hauls the empty stock back to the depot,

279-694: A Family Bedroom for as many as two adults and two children; and an "Accessible Bedroom" (formerly "Special Bedroom") for a wheelchair-using traveler and a companion; plus toilets and a shower. The Viewliner cars contain an Accessible Bedroom (formerly "Special Bedroom") for a wheelchair-using traveler and a companion, with an enclosed toilet-and-shower facility; two Bedrooms (formerly "Deluxe Bedrooms") for one, two, or three travelers, each Bedroom containing an enclosed toilet-and-shower facility; "Roomettes" (formerly "Economy Bedrooms", "Standard Bedrooms", or "Compartments") for one or two travelers, each Roomette containing its own unenclosed toilet and washing facilities; and

372-581: A chance for travel, and it was a well regarded job in the African-American community of the time. The Pullman attendants, regardless of their true name, were traditionally referred to as "George" by the travelers, the name of the company's founder, George Pullman . The Pullman company was the largest employer of African Americans in the United States. Railway porters fought for political recognition and were eventually unionized. Their union,

465-443: A choice of single- or double-occupancy bedrooms. These services operate all week, except Saturdays and usually depart London from Euston and Paddington stations in the evening, arriving at their destinations at approximately 08:00. The Night Riviera service uses British Rail Mk3 sleeper coaches, whereas Caledonian Sleeper uses Mk5 coaches . In Canada, all regularly scheduled sleeping car services are operated by Via Rail , using

558-522: A deluxe option with a private bathroom and shower. Night train numbers have been reduced significantly, as the quality of the rail infrastructure is declining and repairs are insufficient, which leads to longer ride times between cities. A journey from Gara de Nord station in Bucharest to Arad (599 km) usually lasts 11 hours 20 minutes when there are no delays. Most night trains in Romania cross

651-415: A mixture of relatively new cars and refurbished mid-century ones; the latter cars include both private rooms and "open section" accommodations. In the United States, all regularly scheduled sleeping car services are operated by Amtrak . Amtrak offers sleeping cars on most of its overnight trains, using modern cars of the private-room type exclusively. Today, Amtrak operates two main types of sleeping car:

744-777: A modest degree of innovation in the bogie suspension systems and the passenger compartment design. Some other post-Soviet nations rely more heavily on the rolling stock fleet inherited from the Union, to a large extent based on vintage life-prolonged cars assembled in East Germany or Soviet Latvia back in the 1980s. Modern, air-conditioned sleeping cars and couchette cars are part of Croatian Railways rolling stock. Croatian sleeping coaches include single, double or 4-bed compartments with washbasin and many additional hygienic accessories. Passengers also have catering services at their disposal and are given complimentary breakfast, depending on

837-537: A new accommodation block and a hotel. The construction works began in late 2020, the University building is due to open in 2023, the car park in 2024, and all other works are due to be completed by 2027. Plymouth is served by Great Western Railway trains on the main line from London Paddington , some of which terminate at Plymouth but many continue over the Cornish Main Line to Penzance or, in

930-577: A practice used in Italy and Austria, adopted by the CFR in the early 2010s, thus enabling it to increase the capacity on sleeping trains. The sleeping cars of the CFR in the 1990s consisted of Bautzen and Görlitz-made sleeping cars, standard in the Eastern Bloc. They were replaced by Grivița-made WLABmee 71-70 and Hansa-made WLABmee 71–31, bought second-hand from Deutsche Bahn. The most recent sleeping cars are

1023-663: A private shower cubicle. In addition, each Superliner sleeping car has two special lower-level accommodations, each taking up the full width of the car: the Accessible Bedroom, at the restroom/shower end of the car (below the Deluxe Bedrooms), is a fully wheelchair-accessible accommodation for two, with a roll-in cubicle for the toilet and shower; the Family Bedroom, at the Economy Bedroom end of

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1116-495: A scheme executed in 1908. Further major rebuilding work started in 1938; one signal box was replaced and the second moved to make way for the new works, and Houndiscombe Road bridge at the east end of the station was rebuilt. Work was soon stopped due to the Second World War but on North Road was increased when Millbay station had to be closed to passengers in 1941 following an air raid. The old LSWR Friary station

1209-671: A second car, the "Carlisle", was introduced into service. In 1857, the Wason Manufacturing Company of Springfield, Massachusetts – one of the United States' first makers of railway passenger coach equipment – produced America's first specifically designed sleeping car. Canadian railways soon followed with their own sleeping cars: first the Grand Trunk in 1858, then the Great Western . The Great Western's sleeping cars were manufactured in-house, with

1302-462: A shower room at the end of the car. China Railway operates an extensive network of conventional sleeper trains throughout the country, covering all provincial capitals and many major cities. The Chinese "hard" sleeping car in use today is very basic, consisting of 6 fixed bunk beds per compartment, which can be converted into seats in peak season. The middle level bunk bed will be folded and top level bunk bed will still be sold as sleeper, while

1395-453: A single car to increase the number of sleepers over a conventional sleeping car of private rooms. A Roomette , in the historically correct sense of the word, is a private room for a single passenger, containing a single seat, a folding bed, a toilet ( not in a private cubicle of its own), and a washbasin. When a traditional Roomette is in night mode, the bed blocks access to the toilet. Like open sections, Roomettes are placed on both sides of

1488-414: A small closet, and no in-room washbasin or toilet, on both sides of both the upper and lower levels of the car. Effectively, they are open sections with walls, a door, and a built-in access ladder for the upper berth (which doubles as a nightstand for the lower berth passenger). Superliner Deluxe Bedrooms are essentially the same as historic Compartments and Double Bedrooms, with the toilet cubicle doubling as

1581-486: A stationary InterCity 125 High Speed Train at platform 6. Class 43 power car 43160 and the DMU were damaged. Forty-six people were injured; one seriously. The station has its entrance on the south side which gives access to the city centre. The west side of the station concourse is the ticket office, while on the north and east sides are various retail outlets selling food and newspapers. The buffet on Platforms 7 and 8

1674-428: A supplementary charge for a sleeping berth (a single berth is more expensive per person than twin bunk berths). Alternatively, they can purchase a berth inclusive fare. The coaches have not often been used on any other services. However, on summer Saturdays from 2015 until 2018 the seating coaches from a Night Riviera set operated a daytime service from St Erth to Exeter St Davids and back to Penzance . Additionally,

1767-522: A train factory in Minsk , or in Uzbekistan , which has established a 600 km Afrosiyob high-speed rail service between all of its major cities. In the larger Soviet Union successor states like Kazakhstan , Russia , and Ukraine , on the other hand, night trains are to this day a prime method of railway travel, as a shift towards faster daytime trains with seating rather than sleeping arrangements

1860-548: A variety of services from Cornwall towards London and the North as well as some local services. Beyond Platform 8 are two tracks, known as Park Sidings, which are used for stabling trains between services, but most trains are nowadays kept on the platform tracks between arrival and departure. There are some more sidings adjacent to platform 1. There is an extra track between platforms 4 and 5 for through goods trains and shunting manoeuvres. The railway station and surrounding area

1953-662: A year during the end of World War II the United States government banned sleeping cars for runs of less than 450 miles (720 km) in order to make sleepers available for transporting troops returning to the US from Europe , many being deployed in the Pacific Theater . The development of the Interstate Highway System in the 1950s and the expansion of jet airline travel in the same decade negatively affected train travel. One unanticipated consequence of

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2046-699: Is a low-cost night train between Madrid and Barcelona served by berth carriages, with compartments for up to 6 people. While most of Turkey's overnight trains operate within Anatolia , in Asia , TCDD Taşımacılık operates one train from Istanbul to Sofia and Bucharest . The train runs through Turkey as a single train and later splits in Bulgaria. Formerly, overnight trains departed Istanbul to several European destinations such as Thessaloniki , Belgrade , Budapest , Warsaw and Kyiv but were all discontinued in

2139-565: Is also managed by the former. Originally named Plymouth North Road , it was opened in 1877 as a joint station for the Great Western Railway (GWR) and the London and South Western Railway (LSWR). It was expanded in 1908 but a major rebuilding scheme that started in 1938 was delayed by the Second World War and was not completed until 1962. John Betjeman commented unfavourably on its new form in his introduction to The Book of

2232-474: Is eight from Paddington on a Friday night, and from Penzance on a Sunday night. Coaches A and B are seated coaches, C is the Buffet/Lounge Car and the rest are sleeping cars . There are wheelchair spaces in coaches B and D. The sleeping cars are generally made up as six single compartments, and six double in each coach. However this can be altered if demand dictates. Passengers pay standard fares with

2325-721: Is hampered by insufficient investments in the railway infrastructure restricting the speed, lack of train sets, and most importantly, the distances involved. While certain numbers of high-speed trains have been acquired by the national railways of these countries (such as Talgo 250 in Kazakhstan, Siemens Sapsan in Russia, or Hyundai Rotem HRCS in Ukraine), all of them continue to operate a large number of sleeper trains both on domestic and international routes. The need to compete against aviation with its soaring passenger numbers forces

2418-480: Is mainly used by local services to Gunnislake and sometimes Penzance . The remaining platforms are reached by a subway immediately inside the ticket gates; there are lifts to the subway on each of the groups of platforms. They are all through tracks and are signalled so that trains can arrive and depart in either direction. Platform 4 is used by most through services towards Penzance, but also for some trains towards London. Platforms 5 and 6 are either side of

2511-405: Is no longer in operation however there is a small café just beyond the ticket barriers serving hot drinks and hot food. The platform area is separated from the concourse by the ticket gates. The platforms that can be reached on the level from the concourse are numbered 1 to 4. Platforms 1 and 2 are east-facing bay platforms, not used by passenger trains. Platform 3 is a west-facing bay platform that

2604-548: Is undergoing a redevelopment in 2020-2024. Intercity Place , an 11 floor tower next to the station, is being rebuilt for use by the University of Plymouth and the existing three-story car park is being replaced by a new six-story car park on the site of the current Rail Incident Safety Centre building which will be relocated to a new building to the west of the station. The old car park will then be demolished and turned into potential sites for more University buildings including

2697-604: Is usually hauled by one of four dedicated Class 57 locomotives. These are rebuilt and re-engined Class 47s delivered in 2004. There are two identical rakes of coaches, one operating each way each night. The seated coaches are usually at the Penzance end of the train. Passengers can board the train from 22:40 at Paddington, or remain on board at Paddington in the morning after arrival until 06:45. The train usually arrives and departs from Platform 1 at Paddington. It usually consists of seven air-conditioned Mark 3 carriages, but

2790-466: The Chicago Defender , gained a national circulation in this way. Porters also used to re-sell phonograph records bought in the great metropolitan centres, greatly adding to the distribution of jazz and blues and the popularity of the artists. From the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries, the most common and more economical type of sleeping car accommodation on North American trains was

2883-659: The Simplon-Orient Express , Nord Express , Train Bleu , Golden Arrow , and the Transsiberien (on the Trans-Siberian railway ). Today it once again specializes in sleeping cars, along with onboard railroad catering. In modern Europe, a number of sleeping car services continue to operate, though they face strong competition from high-speed day trains and budget airlines, sometimes leading to

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2976-595: The Super Chief on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway . Pullman cars were normally a dark "Pullman green", although some were painted in the host railroad's colors. The cars carried individual names, but usually did not carry visible numbers. In the 1920s, the Pullman Company went through a series of restructuring steps, which in the end resulted in a parent company, Pullman Incorporated, controlling

3069-468: The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (established, 1925), became an important source of strength for the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement in the early 20th century, notably under the leadership of A. Philip Randolph . Because they moved about the country, Pullman porters also became an important means of communication for news and cultural information of all kinds. The African-American newspaper ,

3162-542: The Cornish Main Line to Penzance . The service from Penzance to London is similar but also calls at Totnes (and omits Lostwithiel and Hayle which are served by the train from London to Penzance) and sets down only at Reading. Sleeper berth passengers have the use of the First Class Lounge waiting facilities at Paddington that are usually reserved for First Class passengers only. There are sleeper lounges for passengers at Truro and Penzance. The train

3255-437: The Great Western Railway was introduced at the end of 1877 from London Paddington to Plymouth . This had 7 ft ( 2,134 mm ) broad gauge carriages with two dormitories, one with seven gentlemen's berths and the other with four ladies' berths. These were replaced in 1881 by new carriages with six individual compartments. An additional service was soon added from London to Penzance which eventually became known as

3348-469: The Mark 1 sleeping car that had caught fire at Taunton. These were the first on the route with controlled emission toilets, so discharge facilities were provided at Plymouth Laira and Penzance Long Rock depots where the carriages were serviced, although for a while the carriages were taken from Paddington to Willesden Depot for discharging as Old Oak Common was not initially equipped. A new pricing scheme

3441-613: The Mark 2 carriages . They were refurbished by Railcare, Wolverton in 2008 when they were fitted with reclining seats in the first class and repainted in First Great Western's then blue livery. In June 2012, with the Greater Western franchise scheduled for renewal the following year, the Secretary of State for Transport confirmed the service would continue to be subsidised. During the course of 2017 and 2018

3534-472: The Night Riviera . In 1920, the two trains left London at 22:00 for Penzance and midnight for Plymouth; by 1947, they had been brought forward to 21:50 and 23:50. Under British Rail sleeping cars were limited to just the Penzance service although sleeping cars were detached at Plymouth from the Penzance service until 2006. On 22 December 1945 at 00:45, the sleeper service from Paddington collided with

3627-415: The "open section". Open-section accommodations consist of pairs of seats, one seat facing forward and the other backward, situated on either side of a center aisle. The seat pairs can be converted into the combination of an upper and a lower " berth ", each berth consisting of a bed screened from the aisle by a curtain. A famous example of open sections can be seen in the movie Some Like It Hot (1959). In

3720-589: The 1990s and 2000s. A privately operated overnight train, the Optima Express , runs between Edirne and Villach in Austria with an average trip time of 35 hours. In the United Kingdom, a network of trains with sleeping cars operates daily between London and Scotland ( Caledonian Sleeper ), and between London and the West Country as far as Cornwall ( Night Riviera ). These services offer

3813-813: The Cornish Main Line, often extended eastwards to and from Newton Abbot , Exeter St Davids and beyond. Services are also provided on the Tamar Valley Line to Gunnislake . Plymouth has the third largest number of passengers starting or finishing their journey in Devon, after Exeter Central and Exeter St Davids . Comparing the year from April 2008 to that which started in April 2002, passenger numbers increased by 97%. However, recent years have seen little further growth. The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April. The station

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3906-796: The Great Western : Plymouth (North Road) dullest of stations and no less dull now it has been rebuilt in copybook contemporary. The first railway station in Plymouth was opened by the South Devon Railway on 2 April 1849 at Millbay , on the site now occupied by the Plymouth Pavilions . This company amalgamated with the GWR in 1876, just as the LSWR was completing its rival route from London to Plymouth. North Road station

3999-698: The Millbay line, and Devonport Junction at the far end of the Cornwall Loop. Both of the North Road signal boxes were closed in November 1908 and replaced by new ones with the same names. The West box was now on the north side of the line and had 59 levers, while the East box needed just 48. They were each 38 feet (11.6 m) long. Mutley box closed at the same time, the next box now being at Mannamead on

4092-624: The Prague - Košice line. Another of the more substantial examples of current European sleeping-car service is the Train Bleu , an all-sleeping-car train. It leaves Paris from the Gare d'Austerlitz station in mid-evening and arrives in Nice at about 8 in the morning, providing both first-class rooms and couchette accommodation. The train's principal popularity is with older travelers; it has not won

4185-541: The Pullman Company (which owned and operated sleeping cars) and the Pullman-Standard Car Manufacturing Company. Due to an antitrust verdict in 1947, a consortium of railroads bought the Pullman Company from Pullman Incorporated, and subsequently railroads owned and operated Pullman-made sleeping cars themselves. Pullman-Standard continued manufacturing sleeping cars and other passenger and freight railroad cars until 1980. For nearly

4278-570: The Spanish rail network operator Renfe . It was operated by Renfe and CP where it operated International Sud-Express and Lusitanea services between Spain and Portugal, and by its subsidiary Elipsos (a joint venture between Renfe and French SNCF with a 50% share each) when operating in France , Switzerland and Italy . Trenhotel services were discontinued during the COVID-19 pandemic , this

4371-593: The WLABmee 70-91 made by Astra Arad, which is the same type used by Astra Rail (although the liveries differ), starting from 2014, 2 of the WLABmee 71-70 cars were refurbished, but no other examples have received the same treatment. Other examples that have been withdrawn since were second-hand examples of the TEN MU and T2S types. In Spain, Trenhotel was a long-distance, overnight train service which used Talgo tilting trains technology and sleeping cars developed by

4464-408: The back of the 23.00 train from Paddington near Sonning . The engine of the sleeper service was derailed and it and four parcel vans on the rear of the 23.00 service were badly damaged. Taunton sleeping car fire – on 5 July 1978, the up train left Penzance at 21:30. Approaching Taunton early the next morning, the emergency brake was activated and it came to a stand short of the station with one of

4557-428: The bi-level Superliner sleeping cars, built from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s, and the single-level Viewliner sleeping cars, built in the mid-1990s. Superliners are used on most long-distance routes from Chicago westward, while Viewliners are used on most routes east of Chicago due to tunnel clearance issues in and around New York City and Baltimore . In the most common Superliner sleeping car configuration,

4650-476: The cancellation or consolidation of services. In some cases, trains are split and recombined in the dead of night, making it possible to offer several connections with a relatively small number of trains. Generally, the trains consist of sleeping cars with private compartments, couchette cars, and sometimes cars with normal seating. In Eastern Europe, night trains are still widely used. In Western Europe, they have been in decline for decades. However, in December 2020

4743-822: The car, accommodates two adults and up to three small children, without private toilet or shower facilities. When the Viewliner sleeping cars were built, the accommodations were patterned after the Superliner accommodations, except that the Economy Bedrooms (or "Viewliner Roomettes") include Roomette-style washbasins and toilets, as well as windows for the upper berths. In Europe , the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (French for "International Sleeping Car Company") first focused on sleeping cars, but later operated whole trains, including

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4836-638: The car, with a corridor down the center. Duplex Roomettes, a Pullman-produced precursor to the Slumbercoach, are staggered vertically, with every second accommodation raised a few feet above the car's floor level, in order to make slightly more efficient use of the space. Single-passenger Slumbercoach accommodations are a particularly spartan form of roomette; Slumbercoaches also included a few two-passenger units. Compartments and Double Bedrooms are private rooms for two passengers, with upper and lower berths, washbasins, and private toilets, placed on one side of

4929-443: The car, with the corridor running down the other side (thus allowing the accommodation to be slightly over two thirds the width of the car). Frequently, these accommodations have movable partitions allowing adjacent accommodations to be combined into a suite. The drawing room was a relatively rare and expensive option for travelers. It could comfortably accommodate three people, again with a washbasin and private toilet on one side of

5022-455: The car. Even rarer are larger rooms accommodating four or more. Generally the needs of large parties were better served with multiple rooms, with or without the ability to combine them into a suite. Amtrak's Superliner Economy Bedrooms (now called Superliner Roomettes, although they are structurally closer to open sections) accommodate two passengers in facing seats that fold out into a lower berth, with an upper berth that folds down from above,

5115-502: The carriages on fire. This had been caused by dirty linen that had been placed near a heater, which had been a standard and safe practice before the recent change from steam to electric heating. Twelve people died and thirteen were injured. On 11 July 1983 the Penzance sleeper was relaunched as the Night Riviera , designed to complement the long-established daytime Cornish Riviera . New Mark 3 air-conditioned sleeping cars were introduced with many safety features that had been lacking in

5208-495: The co-owner of Le Monde newspaper. However, the project later collapsed due in part to a lack of funding. In 2021 Europe saw a increase in the provision of sleeper trains which is thought to be the result of increasing awareness of the environmental effects of long-distance travel. In 2022 the design and engineering faculties of three European universities – Aalto , KTH and TalTech – discussed plans to reshape sleeping cars for flow production. The ADLNE project aims to create

5301-588: The country, covering distances of 400 to 750 km, usually to end at certain international destinations or in large cities at opposite ends of the country. The overwhelming majority of night trains with sleeping coaches are owned and operated by CFR Călători (Romanian Railways). Recently, private operators such as Astra Rail Carpatica , the newly founded private operator of Astra Vagoane Arad , has started offering sleeping train services, using own-made sleeping cars and Servtrans locomotives. CFR today prefers operating more couchettes than sleeping cars in its trains,

5394-518: The day and "privacyless" double- or triple-level bunk beds at night. In 2021 the French start-up company, Midnight Trains , announced plans to set up a network of sleeper trains, centered in Paris . Planned destinations include Edinburgh , Copenhagen , Berlin , Venice , Rome , Barcelona , Madrid , and Porto , with some intermediate stops. The plans were backed by telecoms billionaire Xavier Niel ,

5487-520: The destination. Some of the Nightjet train units have a maximum speed of 230 km/h. In the Soviet Union overnight train travel formed the most common and accessible mode of long-distance travel, distances between the capital of Moscow and many outlying cities being ideal for overnight trips that depart in late evening and arrive at their destinations in the morning. Sleeping cars with berths are

5580-530: The development of air travel, overnight bus services and high-speed rail . As of May 2016, sleeper car trains of regular service in Japan are as follows: Plymouth railway station Plymouth railway station serves the city of Plymouth , Devon , England . It is on the northern edge of the city centre, close to the North Cross roundabout. It is the third busiest station in the county of Devon and

5673-635: The earliest example of a sleeping car (or bed carriage , as it was then called) was on the London & Birmingham and Grand Junction Railways between London and Lancashire , England. The bed carriage was first made available to first-class passengers in 1838. In the spring of 1839, the Cumberland Valley Railroad pioneered sleeping car service in the United States with a car named "Chambersburg", between Chambersburg and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania . A couple of years later

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5766-462: The east and Keyham in the west. The area of control was extended westwards on 2 July 1973 to meet the signal box at St Germans , which closed in 1998 so the next signal box westwards is now at Liskeard railway station . Towards the end of 1973 several more signal boxes were closed eastwards from Plymouth, which meant that Plymouth controlled trains until they reached the outer signal of Totnes Signal Box . Totnes box closed on 9 November 1987 when

5859-497: The entire train was refurbished. This included new standard class seats in the seated coach, and a wheelchair space and toilet. There was a refurbished buffet counter and lounge car. All the sleeper carriages were refurbished, and featured keycard locks, allowing passengers to unlock their own cabins for the first time, new lighting, and a wardrobe, along with underbed storage. There was also a disabled accessible berth and toilet added. The westbound service operates with headcode 1C50,

5952-695: The fastest sleeper trains in the world. A new variant of CRH2E consists of double level bunk capsules in lieu of sleeping berths. These trains have been dubbed "moving hotels". A major portion of passenger cars in India are sleeper/couchette cars. With railways as one of the primary mode of passenger transport, sleeper cars vary from economical to First Class AC (air conditioned). Most Indian trains come in combinations of first class A/C and non-A/C private sleeper cars with doors, and A/C 3-tier or 2-tier couchette arrangements. Japan used to have many sleeper trains, but most of these routes have been removed because of

6045-460: The first three built in 1858, and the railway operating six by 1863. The man who ultimately made the sleeping car business profitable in the United States was George Pullman , who began by building a luxurious sleeping car (named Pioneer ) in 1865. The Pullman Company , founded as the Pullman Palace Car Company in 1867, owned and operated most sleeping cars in the United States until the mid-20th century, attaching them to passenger trains run by

6138-416: The largest of the six surviving stations in Plymouth. Plymouth is a principal stop on the Exeter-Plymouth line and Cornish Main Line ; it is located 245  miles 75  chains (245.94 mi; 395.8 km) from London Paddington , via Box . It is also the usual terminus for the Tamar Valley Line services from Gunnislake . The station is served by Great Western Railway and CrossCountry ; it

6231-469: The lower bed will be occupied by three passengers. Chinese trains also offer "soft" or deluxe sleeping cars with four or two beds per room. China is the only country to operate high-speed sleeper trains. Sleeper services are operated using high-speed CRH1E , CRH2E and CRH5E trains outfitted with sleeping berths ( couchette ). Services run between Beijing - Shanghai and Beijing - Guangzhou at speeds of up to 250 km/h (160 mph), one of

6324-491: The main cities in Northern Italy and the South , including Sicily using train ferry. Sleeping trains in Poland are run by PKP Intercity . Sleeper cars are used on long-distance domestic trains such as the Przemyślanin as well as international trains. Polish night trains also contain standard first and second class seated cars as well as couchette cars . The sleeper cars offer various types of accommodations, including 4-bed, 3-bed, 2-bed and single accommodations, as well as

6417-441: The mid-to-late 20th century, an increasing variety of private rooms was offered. Most of these rooms provided significantly more space than open-section accommodations could offer. Open-sections were increasingly phased out in the 1950s, in favor of roomettes. Some of them, such as the rooms of the " Slumbercoach " cars manufactured by the Budd Company and first put into service in 1956, were triumphs of miniaturization. These allowed

6510-407: The middle island platform and are used by a variety of services, including Great Western Railway local trains and long distance CrossCountry services. Platforms 7 and 8 are either side of a second island platform; there is a small coffee shop facing the subway steps on this platform. Most Great Western Railway services to London Paddington depart from platform 7, but both these platforms are used by

6603-454: The north side of the line, which was brought into use on 25 June 1939. Both signal boxes were closed on 26 November 1960 when a new "Plymouth Panel Signal Box" was opened on the west end of the new Platform 1; the West box was subsequently demolished. Multiple-aspect signals have controlled movements of trains throughout the Plymouth area since the opening of this new signal box in 1960. The adjacent boxes were initially at Laira Junction in

6696-698: The only reasonable solution for railway trips lasting several days (e.g., trains running along the Trans-Siberian Railway , or direct trains from Moscow or Saint Petersburg to the capitals of the Central Asian Soviet Republics). Since then, the railroads in the smaller ex-Soviet nations have largely transitioned to daytime intercity trains, such as in Belarus , where the process is based on government-funded purchases of rolling stock supplied by Stadler , which operates

6789-415: The other side of Mutley Tunnel, which had opened about three years earlier. The rebuilding work of 1938 meant more signalling alterations. On 22 January 1938, the timber West box was lifted up and moved to a new position clear of the proposed works, being brought back into use on 27 January 1938. At the other end of the station the East box was closed and a new 79 feet (24.1 m) structure built, again on

6882-617: The railcar from modules that are themselves composed of interchangeable segments, compartments and fittings, allowing bespoke designs at low cost. ÖBB 's modern Nightjet services operate in Germany , Austria , Italy , Switzerland , France , Netherlands and Belgium , and Nightjet's partners will also take passengers to Slovakia , Croatia , Slovenia , Poland , Hungary and the Czech Republic . The services usually leave at around 20:00 hours and arrive at around 09:00 hours at

6975-620: The railroads to maintain modest ticket prices, starting at below 10 Euros for third-class tickets in Ukraine, if higher in the richer ex-Soviet nations. Rolling stock age and quality also varies by country. In countries like Kazakhstan and Russia, locally-produced cars are purchased regularly to update the fleet, with newly introduced comforts such as showers, dry toilets, or conditioning units in passenger compartments becoming an increasingly common sight; Russian Railroads have also introduced double-deck sleeper cars; yet comfort levels still suffer from

7068-626: The return 1A50. From London Paddington , the train stops first at Reading (to pick up only) then a long run without stops to Taunton . This allows it to use different routes between Reading and Taunton depending on engineering work or other blockades each night: In exceptional circumstances it can be diverted between Castle Cary and Exeter St Davids via Yeovil Pen Mill , Yeovil Junction and Honiton , not calling at Taunton and reversing at Exeter. After Taunton it continues to Exeter St Davids , Newton Abbot and Plymouth , crossing into Cornwall and calling at Liskeard then most stations down

7161-464: The reverse being done with the train from London. In January 2022, FirstGroup called for tenders for electro-diesel locomotives to replace the Class 57s. [REDACTED] Media related to Night Riviera at Wikimedia Commons Sleeping car The first such cars saw sporadic use on American and English railways in the 1830s; they could be configured for coach seating during the day. Possibly

7254-402: The rise of Pullman cars in the US in the 19th and early 20th centuries was their effect on civil rights and African-American culture. Each Pullman car was staffed by a uniformed porter . The majority of Pullman porters were African Americans. While still a menial job in many respects, Pullman offered better pay and security than most jobs open to African Americans at the time, in addition to

7347-429: The same degree of popularity with younger travelers. Recently, the upper-class coaches (wagons lits) have been sold to foreign railroad companies, so that only couchette cars (1st and 2nd class) and seating coaches remain. The Train Bleu is part of the French night service network called Intercités de Nuit . In Italy, Ferrovie dello Stato operates an extensive network of trains with sleeping cars, especially between

7440-576: The service become part of the Great Western Trains franchise in February 1996 and the rolling stock was repainted into its green and white livery. Between 29 May 1995 and 26 September 1998 the service was diverted to London Waterloo to provide connection with Eurostar services. In December 1998 Great Western Trains was rebranded First Great Western. When the Greater Western franchise was up for reletting in 2005, consideration

7533-495: The state railways of Germany , Austria , France and Switzerland announced a 500 million euro investment in a network of cross-border night trains linking 13 major European cities, in the largest extension of Europe's night network in many years. An example of a more basic type of sleeping car is the European couchette car , which is divided into compartments for four or six people, with bench-configuration seating during

7626-783: The summer, Newquay . Services between London Paddington to Plymouth are at least hourly throughout the day. A number of named trains operate on this route including the Cornish Riviera , a fast London to Penzance daytime service, and the overnight Night Riviera service on the same route. Most CrossCountry trains from Scotland and the North of England via Bristol terminate at Plymouth, although 2 continue to Penzance, and, on summer weekends, Newquay. From Plymouth, most services terminate at Edinburgh Waverley via Birmingham New Street , however, 1 train per day operates towards both Glasgow Central and Aberdeen respectively. Local services are provided by Great Western Railway along

7719-727: The type of ticket bought. A night train with sleeping carriages included operates on the route between the two largest Croatian towns, Zagreb and Split , and Croatian sleeping coaches are included on the Zagreb- Stuttgart -Zagreb and Zagreb- Zürich -Zagreb EuroNight lines. Sleeping car services in the Czech Republic are operated by České dráhy and RegioJet . ČD operates them on the Prague - Leipzig - Zürich line, Prague - Linz - Zürich line, Prague - Humenné line and others. RegioJet provides them on various trains on

7812-400: The upper level is divided into two halves, one half containing "Bedrooms" (formerly "Deluxe Bedrooms") for one, two, or three travelers, each Bedroom containing an enclosed toilet-and-shower facility; and the other half containing " Roomettes " (formerly "Economy Bedrooms" or "Standard Bedrooms") for one or two travelers; plus a beverage area and a toilet. The lower level contains more Roomettes;

7905-779: The various railroads; there were also some sleeping cars that were operated by Pullman but owned by the railroad running a given train. During the peak years of American passenger railroading, several all-Pullman trains existed, including the 20th Century Limited on the New York Central Railroad , the Broadway Limited on the Pennsylvania Railroad , the Panama Limited on the Illinois Central Railroad , and

7998-663: The west end is usually used for the Tamar Valley Line service but the longer east end bays were used for parcels and for Royal Mail trains until the withdrawal of this traffic from the area in 2003. Outside the station a car park was provided, which was rebuilt in its current multistorey form in the 1970s. In recent times there have been updates to the station. South West Trains operated two trains per day to and from London Waterloo, one weekend service would continue to Penzance, but South West Trains services were withdrawn beyond Exeter St Davids in December 2009. On 3 April 2016, Class 150 diesel multiple unit 150219 collided with

8091-540: Was also introduced. Instead of paying a sleeping berth supplement on top of the fare for the journey, all-inclusive fares were introduced that were set at competitive rates. The seating carriages that formed part of the train were mainly Mark 2 carriages. The train by now was again leaving London at midnight, shown in the timetables as 23:59. On 23 November 1983, the Night Riviera derailed on approach to London Paddington with locomotive 50041 sliding for 100 metres on its side. There were no casualties. Privatisation saw

8184-542: Was closed from 15 September 1958, following which North Road was renamed as just 'Plymouth'. Further closures during the next few years of former LSWR stations and GWR branch lines has left just six stations in the city ( Devonport , Dockyard , Keyham and two in St Budeaux – Victoria Road and Ferry Road ) – although local passengers also come from stations a little further afield such as Saltash , St Germans , Menheniot and Ivybridge . The rebuilding work

8277-472: Was due to some routes being covered by daytime high-speed trains, the age of rolling stock and the diminishing popularity of some of the services. Renfe announced that trains to and from the Spanish region of Galicia would eventually be reintroduced. This marked the end of sleeper trains in Portugal and it left Celta as the last international train service between Portugal and Spain. The Estrella (Star)

8370-512: Was given to withdrawing the service. The service was retained, but from December 2006 the carriage detached at Plymouth was withdrawn as it typically only carried four passengers. The stop at Bristol Temple Meads was also withdrawn, introducing the flexibility to divert the service during overnight engineering works. The Class 47s were replaced in 2004 by four Class 57s . In 2006 former Virgin West Coast Mark 3 carriages replaced

8463-523: Was opened on 28 March 1877 to provide a joint facility for trains of both companies. It was just west of the earlier Mutley railway station , while at its west end a new junction allowed direct access to the Cornwall Railway and the LSWR's Devonport Kings Road railway station . The station was built of wood and the platforms were fully covered by train sheds . It originally had just two through platforms but additional platforms were added in

8556-409: Was originally controlled from two signal boxes . "North Road East" was on the north side of the line to the east of the station, while "North Road West" was on the south side of the line at the west end of the station where it could control the junction of the original lines to Millbay with the new Cornwall Loop Line to Devonport. The adjacent signal boxes were at Mutley to the east, Cornwall Junction on

8649-781: Was resumed in 1956 to the designs of architect Howard Cavanagh and Ian Campbell and the new station with its large office block, ' Intercity House ', was formally opened by Dr Richard Beeching , the British Railways Chairman, on 26 March 1962. The office block was intended to be the northern point of Armada Way, counterbalancing the tower of the Civic Centre at the southern end, in the Abercrombie /Paton-Watson 'Plan for Plymouth'. The station now had seven through platforms, although two of these were converted to terminal bay platforms in 1974. One of these at

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