Like many readers, and other eco-friendly folk, I don’t drive or have a car – I cycle, for both exercise and leisure, and to get to places I need to be.
As those who cycle will probably know though, cycling long distances on busy roads is rarely much of a pleasure or even an option (15 or 20km is about my limit!). That’s when I need to take the train with my bike – to travel further and avoid heavy traffic.
I’m fortunate that my local train operator (Merseyrail) has a ‘bikes go free’ policy and actively encourage cyclists to use the train to transport their bikes. There’s no pre-booking requirements and always plenty of dedicated space for bikes.
Not all operators are so enlightened
That’s great if I’m staying in my local area but not all operators are so enlightened and travelling further afield can prove difficult. Transporting a bike with other local or national rail operators often requires pre-booking, and that’s if they’ll even take a bike!
There is no minimum requirement for train operators to carry bicycles and each operator has a different set of rules and booking procedures.
As there’s no provision to reserve space for a bike when booking train tickets online – and limited information, if any, about available space – it can mean having no idea if you’ll be able to get your bike on certain trains and complete your journey.
The whole thing’s a shambles and does little to encourage more environmentally-friendly travel.
Clearly, a national ‘bike-friendly’ policy is urgently needed, with a fully integrated booking system (also available online through the standard ticket retailers) and incentives or requirements for operators to improve their bike carrying capacity.
Please sign the petition
To that end, a petition has been raised by Timothy Keen – on the Number 10 website – calling on the Prime Minister to “require train operators to provide an integrated system for the carriage of bicycles and ensure there is adequate capacity available”.
The deadline to sign the petition is 10 June 2009. If you’re a cyclist, or simply support the cause, please add your weight to the petition and sign it now!
Share your experiences
I’d be interested to hear about your experiences of taking a bike on trains. Please feel free to leave a comment below for others to read.
21 comments… read them below or add yours now
Another helpful article, Paul. I’m luvvin Green Pepper! As for the bikes on trains thing, as a regular cyclist myself, CrossCountry have to be the worst. If you haven’t reserved a place (which you can’t do online, as you pointed out) they’ll refuse to let you on with a bike. Merseyrail sounds fantastic, CrossCountry should take note.
PS I’m off to sign the petition now!
Twitter: @cybasurfa
Yeah, Merseyrail are great. Just jump on and off with your bike. The only problem sometimes is that there’s too many bikes!
I cycle for pleasure/exercise and have never tried taking my bike on a train but it’s ludicrous that there’s no national policy or co-ordinated approach. I’ve signed the petition and will tell my cyclist friends about it.
@Sam Turner Thanks for the compliment and sharing your experiences of CrossCountry. I found this info about bikes on their website.
@cybasurfa Looks like Merseyrail are the exception. Did you sign the petition (for the benefit of cyclists who don’t enjoy the same convenience)?
@J Holbrook Thanks for joining the discussion, and for signing the petition and spreading the word. We need every cyclist in the UK to sign it!
How about bikes on the bus? We don’t have trains where I live (small town America) and there’s only a limited bus service but all the buses have bike racks on the front. I don’t recall ever seeing anything like that in the UK.
@Sykeel: Thanks for info, that’s interesting. I don’t believe there is anything like that in the UK. I did once take my bike on a long-distance coach (National Express) by putting it in the baggage compartment – the driver wasn’t too happy about it though!
Have spent a very frustrating time trying to book my bike on a train from Edinburgh to Taunton. I telephoned Crosscountry and was offered an Advance ticket at a very good price for the date and time I wanted but was told that bike reservations “had not yet been allocated for that train”. This despite Crosscountry’s website stating that bike reservations can be made at the same time as you buy your train ticket. Hoping that an email to Customer Services bears some fruit.
Crosscountry have to be the worst. I travel from Banbury to Leeds every weekend; the train has only eight bike spaces for a train which must carry upwards of 300 people. You cannot book online, instead you have to struggle with an overseas call center for 10 mins, only to be told that all the spaces have gone.
@Ron Kirkpatrick: Welcome to Green Pepper! That sounds very frustrating, I hope you were able to resolve the matter with them and thanks for telling us about it.
@Tim Holmes: Welcome to you too! Your experience sounds equally frustratng. Crosscountry certainly appear to have a poor record when it comes to accommodating cyclists. Thanks for letting us know.
Cross Country are very difficult. Following their instruction to phone to book (12 weeks before journey) I was told there were no cycle spaces, and I would have to contact Derby Station?? Asked whether cycle spaces were booked out and or just not on system yet met with, no joy. Tried again different operator, same result. Husband tried 10 minutes after, was told the same but got someone willing to go the extra mile and cycle booking reference obtained after being refered to another department. Friend are having same problem today, and are still trying. Are they just putting people off by making it so difficult, as they do not want cycles. Previous journeys on Virgin and National Express much easier to book.
I want to use Merseyrail with my bike to get to work tomorrow. However according to their website. It says……..
“….Merseyrail trains offer a great opportunity outside peak hours to travel with bikes…”
I dont see any encouragement ? and wonder if Im going to be turned away in the morning ?
That was under “Cycle Information” on thier website.
When buying your next bike think about a folder. They can be taken on all trains – as if they were large suitcases.
Twitter: @digitalgen
Good point, Peter. A friend of mine has just done that, for that reason.
Did you know that you can book cycles online at the same time as you book your ticket through nationalexpresseastcoast.com ? It works for any of the train operators, not just NXEC. I just hope their website doesn’t go the way of the rest of their franchise!
I am a student [no student hate comments please] ; )
I travel from Chelmsford Essex to Stratford, 3 days a week for University. 2 of the 3 days are during peak hours. By getting off at Stratford and cycling to University, (and not Liverpool street, then taking the tube) I save roughly £1450 a year in fares.
If the trains are not too busy, the guards generally have no trouble letting me take my bike on. If the trains are busy, some of the guards still let me take my bike on certain carriages. However 3 particular guards will never let me take my bike on. Even though the customer service guy says that they will let me take the bike! It seems the system has really failed. Something needs to be done, in the light of all the environmental issues, it seems backward that a simple cost effective solution is being swept aside. Privatised rail? hmmm It seems to me like they want my £1450 a year saving!
Bike: Cannondale F5 disc hardtail.
Train Service: First Great Eastern
Thanks for your comments Ben. It’s true, there does seem to be a bit of a mix up in communications in many stations, with one person saying one thing and Guards saying another.
Hopefully, common sense will prevail and bikes will be allowed on trains once more. Come on Operators – the planet’s more important than pounds!
Paul, I’m thinking of taking my bike on Merseyrail but can’t find any information about getting to different levels at Central and Moorfields stations. Do you know if you can take them up the escalator (ooh er Missus!) or if you can fit one in the lifts? Is carrying it up the stairs feasible? Thanks, Victor
Twitter: @digitalgen
You can do both – I have. They fit in the lift (if working), providing there’s nobody else in it. And you can carry them up the stairs, couple of flights if you’re coming from the Wirral Line or single flight from the Northern Line (depends how heavy your bike is, I suppose). Not sure about taking them on escalators though. HTH. Paul ;-)
Twitter: @digitalgen
The petition to “require the train operators to provide an integrated system for the carriage of bicycles and ensure there is adequate capacity available” was closed on 10th June 2009. You can read the government’s response here.
Thanks for that Paul. The person at the so-called “information desk” at Merseytravel actually asked me why I wanted to know! I had to bite my tongue or I’d have been really sarky. She then said she had no idea and made no attempt to find out. Merseyrail phone line person thought a bike would fit in the lift, but couldn’t say for certain. Wasn’t sure about the escalator either. I didn’t want to plan a journey and come unstuck at the first hurdle. You’ve been a great help. I’m intending to cycle along the New Brighton/Moreton/Park Gate route and don’t want to be knackered before I start (I’m coming from Maghull) so I’ll get the train to the Wirral. Thanks again, Victor (Meldrew)
Twitter: @cybasurfa
More discussion on the subject here (article by Chris Peck, policy coordinator for the CTC).