DynamicSpirit
Established Member
I took my bicycle from Lancaster to Euston today, and sat in one of the usual 'Reserved - Cyclist' seats right next to the door to the cycle compartment.
To my astonishment, when the train was approaching Euston and I stood up to go sort out my cycle for getting off, I found there was no way to get back into the cycle storage area: The door from the passenger compartment to the cycle area simply didn't have the usual passenger-operable button to open it. This meant that, despite sitting right next to the cycle compartment, I had to walk down the length of coach A to the passenger door, and then back along the platform, with my rucksack and two very heavy panniers, to wait for the conductor to let me in. I asked the conductor about this, and she said that Virgin were progressively removing the button that currently gives access to the cycle storage area from all their trains.
Why???? This seems an extraordinarily bad thing to do, which will seriously inconvenience cyclist-passengers, and has the potential to delay trains too:
To my astonishment, when the train was approaching Euston and I stood up to go sort out my cycle for getting off, I found there was no way to get back into the cycle storage area: The door from the passenger compartment to the cycle area simply didn't have the usual passenger-operable button to open it. This meant that, despite sitting right next to the cycle compartment, I had to walk down the length of coach A to the passenger door, and then back along the platform, with my rucksack and two very heavy panniers, to wait for the conductor to let me in. I asked the conductor about this, and she said that Virgin were progressively removing the button that currently gives access to the cycle storage area from all their trains.
Why???? This seems an extraordinarily bad thing to do, which will seriously inconvenience cyclist-passengers, and has the potential to delay trains too:
- Unloading cycles will now take longer because you can't get to the cycle to prepare it for unloading until the train is in the station and someone has let you back on it (this is what could delay trains).
- Anyone in coach A has much further to walk to get to their cycle.
- It becomes impossible to get to your cycle en route (for example to retrieve anything you've left with it, or to check it's OK).
- If you have heavy panniers and rucksack (as I did today) you may need to carry them separately from the cycle area to the passenger compartment after loading your cycle. This leaves a risk that the door could close while you're in the middle of retrieving your bags - and then you're basically screwed because you can't open it again - you'd have to go and find the conductor before you can get all your bags.
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