A British man who fell asleep on an overnight train headed to London has described how he woke the next morning only to realise he hadn't even left the station.
Jim Metcalfe had boarded the Caledonian Sleeper service at Glasgow rail station expecting to arrive in the UK capital, following a journey that typically takes 10 hours, in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Expecting to awake in Euston, central in London, Mr Metcalfe was instead surprised to learn that his train had failed to depart and he was still in Scotland.
“In 15 years of using this train, and through many bizarre twists and turns, this has to be strangest yet,” he wrote on Twitter. “Wake up, and the train never left Glasgow.
"I was here all night and now we have been thrown off it at 5.30am in the wrong city.”
He said staff had allowed him to remain on the train, despite the service having been cancelled.
“Cal Sleeper tweeted that the service was on last night, let people board, and just left us sitting here all night. They let everyone get in and go to sleep, and just left us here.
“I’m travelling for work. It’s hard to even know what to say …”
Mr Metcalfe, who is a charity chief executive in Scotland, said he has been using the Caledonian Sleeper service for 15 years.
He offered advice on getting some lengthy shut eye: "If you can sleep before it shunts, you’ll get some snooze".
The Caledonian Sleeper is one of Britain's last remaining sleeper train services and connects the north of Scotland - including Glasgow Aberdeen and Inverness - with destinations in England.
Britain's railways have been hit by ongoing issues in recent weeks, including strikes and faults to rail infrastructure, which buckled following 40°C temperatures.
Kathryn Darbandi, Serco’s managing director for Caledonian Sleeper, said: “We apologise to guests affected by the cancellation of our overnight services between Scotland and London.
“This was due to a fault identified on the line, late in the evening, related to the extreme temperatures causing problems across the network, which were outside of our control.
“We made all efforts to support guests impacted, including providing overnight accommodation on board and options for travel on alternative rail services the next day. All guests will receive a full refund.”
