Bike reservations

[DynamicSpirit]

To which I say “so?”.

There’s plenty examples of non-standard luggage. I’ve seen people with large musical instruments, and even sets of skis.

It just seems that people are determined to demonise bicycles and those who ride them, despite them actually not being that difficult to transport, and not taking up as much room as is often made out.

Well I'm a cyclist and I do have occasions when I need to take by bike on trains (not often, typically 4-5 return trips a year), so I'm hardly going to try to demonise bicycles. But out of thousands of train journeys I've made, I can't recall ever seeing anyone try to bring luggage on the train that is remotely as big/awkward to store as a bicycle. Skis may be long but they are also very thin, so presumably ought to fit in the overhead luggage racks. Most musical instruments I've seen can be stood up and, even if too big for the luggage rack, can be carried on the owner's lap, or - if there are seats available - on the neighbouring seat. Neither is remotely possible for a bicycle.

 

[Killingworth]

I can't cast a vote because there's no simple answer.

100 years ago my commercial traveller grandfather, based in Newcastle, would put his bike in guards vans on trains all around Northumberland and Durham. He had to pay for the bike.

There was plenty of space and all sorts of other items loaded in the van from porter's trolleys.

On the Tyneside electrics there were pram coaches attached to summer weekend trains, the pram being paid for.

The solution today is a complete redesign of rolling stock requiring 40 years and lots of space that won't be used. 100 years ago that was the case. But then bulky luggage was sent in advance, and also paid for.

 

[kristiang85]

Where has this? In my experience local trains abroad typically require no reservation for bicycles and have lots of space although there is often a charge.

In Belgium and Italy you need to buy a pass to take bikes on board, though this is cheap (3-5 EUR), and in Denmark you can get a day pass too for around £7.

In Switzerland, non-foldable bikes are 5 CHF I think?

In Germany its around 10 EUR to take a bike on IC trains, but they aren't allowed on ICE.

In Austria is 7 EUR for a bike ticket.

Eurostar is £30 each way (I guess this is because it counts as excess luggage, which it is).

Basically, most European countries seem to work on a system that if the bike is foldable or deconstructed it is fine, but if it is whole then you need to pay a small fee to recognise the space or facilities you're using up. We should do the same here, and as I said it essentially gives a 'contract' to the TOC/passenger to provide this space, and dedicated space not in conflict with normal passengers, which is better for all IMHO. There's some really fancy bike rack carriages I've seen in Germany, which with a little investment would work well here.

 

[JohnMcL7]

Use the TPE or GWR websites. Those sites let you reserve cycles online at the same time as you book your tickets.

Thanks for the recommendation, I decided to try that but if I choose for example the Inverness to London service it comes up with an error that 'Bike Reservation is not possible for some legs of your journey' which since there's only one leg I assume won't get me a bike space? It doesn't seem to show the availability either.

 

[Esker-pades]

To which I say “so?”.

There’s plenty examples of non-standard luggage. I’ve seen people with large musical instruments, and even sets of skis.

It just seems that people are determined to demonise bicycles and those who ride them, despite them actually not being that difficult to transport, and not taking up as much room as is often made out.

Skis can usually be put in the overhead luggage rack. Even if they can't be, they are very long and narrow so they take up very little floor space if propped against a wall or wedged behind something.

I travel with musical instruments. I also know a lot of musicians. Depending on the size of the instrument, the technique varies from pocket (piccolo), overhead luggage rack (clarinet), end-of-coach luggage rack (bassoon) or reserving an extra seat/putting it in with the bikes (again, with reservation). Musicians are very protective of their instruments.