In 1979 British Rail ordered 236 Mk3a sleeper carriages to replace an ageing fleet of Mark 1 sleeper cars that were built to various designs and which dated from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. This order was later reduced to 207 carriages. East Coast sleeper services between London and Scotland ceased in May 1988 but the sleeper services on the WCML from Euston remained. Mk3 sleeper vehicles remain in use on the Great Western Railway Night Riviera from London Paddington to Penzance.