Cycle Allowed on the train but not the station?

[83A]

I often visit a work office in Newbury and I travel down by train from Hitchin or Cambridge. I take my push bike with me to get around.

Last week I was returning home and got to St Pancras not long after 4pm. I never bother with Kings Cross as the trains out of there don’t except non folding bikes at peak times.

The Horsham To Peterborough service does accept (non-folding) bikes at all times according to the national rail web site. I ALWAYS check if cycles are allowed on the trains I'm taking.

I was heading through the barrier and got stopped by a member of staff who told me could not take my bike during peak hours unless folding.

I asked when that was and they said between 4-7pm.

I pointed out that I had checked national rail and cycles were permitted on the train I was taking. They however said no cycles were allowed on the platform at all during peak hours at St Pancras.

Slightly confusing really!

Does anyone actually know who is correct here and or who can I contact to clarify this?

Thanks

 

[LowLevel]

I often visit a work office in Newbury and I travel down by train from Hitchin or Cambridge. I take my push bike with me to get around.

Last week I was returning home and got to St Pancras not long after 4pm. I never bother with Kings Cross as the trains out of there don’t except non folding bikes at peak times.

The Horsham To Peterborough service does accept (non-folding) bikes at all times according to the national rail web site. I ALWAYS check if cycles are allowed on the trains I'm taking.

I was heading through the barrier and got stopped by a member of staff who told me could not take my bike during peak hours unless folding.

I asked when that was and they said between 4-7pm.

I pointed out that I had checked national rail and cycles were permitted on the train I was taking. They however said no cycles were allowed on the platform at all during peak hours at St Pancras.

Slightly confusing really!

Does anyone actually know who is correct here and or who can I contact to clarify this?

Thanks

According to the GTR Thameslink website here, non folding bikes are, as per the staff member quoted above, banned from trains leaving or passing Central London stations (presumably "The Core" between KX St Pancras and London Bridge) between 1600 and 1900.
https://www.thameslinkrailway.com/travel-information/on-board/bringing-a-bike

 

[pdeaves]

Presumably cycles already on the train from earlier are OK but yes, it can be confusing.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Presumably cycles already on the train from earlier are OK but yes, it can be confusing.

It's not well written by any TOC really. Technically, for example, bikes are banned from the 1852 Euston-Crewe via Brum entirely, because it leaves Euston at a restricted time. However, nobody is going to give a monkey's if someone boards it at Stafford at 2144 to go to Crewe because it'll be nearly empty. In practice the Euston, Watford and MKC barriers are probably the only place it will be enforced. The restriction in use was written when no LM (possibly even Silverlink) trains from Euston went north of Northampton, and hasn't been revised because it causes few issues because common sense tends to be used.

 

[Haywain]

Presumably cycles already on the train from earlier are OK but yes, it can be confusing.

No, on the traditional Thameslink route the restriction is south of Luton Airport Parkway on the north side of London with no restrictions at all between Luton Airport Parkway and Bedford. Offhand, I’m not sure where the boundary of the restriction is to the south of London.

 

[paul1609]

No, on the traditional Thameslink route the restriction is south of Luton Airport Parkway on the north side of London with no restrictions at all between Luton Airport Parkway and Bedford. Offhand, I’m not sure where the boundary of the restriction is to the south of London.

It goes all the way to Brighton/Horsham basically because Brighton has a peak hour of its own which is often contra to the flow to or from London.

 

[Haywain]

It goes all the way to Brighton/Horsham basically because Brighton has a peak hour of its own which is often contra to the flow to or from London.

Good point. What I outlined was, in fact, the only exemption to the restriction.

 

[smsm1]

If you are frequently going through a station in any of the areas with peak time restrictions at or around the the peak time, I'd recommend getting a folding bike such as a Brompton. Well worth it as it avoids the hassle.

You have to check both the train and the station as to whether they are allowed. Generally the more restrictive one applies, though as has been mentioned above, common sense will often apply where it's reasonable for the carriage of cycles, such as on quieter trains.

 

[83A]

Thanks all!

So it seems I either need to arrive earlier, have a beer and wait until 19:00 Or try a different station further south.

I did consider a folding bike but I have a nice touring cycle setup and I do travel some miles around Newbury from work to the hotel and back, this would not be so nice on a small wheel folding bike.

 

[Haywain]

Or try a different station further south.

The restrictions don't change according to the station, so that wouldn't help. Even if you go all the way to Horsham the restrictions are the same.

 

[83A]

The restrictions don't change according to the station, so that wouldn't help. Even if you go all the way to Horsham the restrictions are the same.

So on the Thameslink site it states

"on trains travelling away from London that are timed to depart from or pass through any central London station between 16:00 and19:00 Monday to Friday, except on public holidays"

But on National Rail if you look any Thameslink train from Horsham to P'bo at any time of the day accepts bicycles.

I guess its a beer in London until 19:00 then

 

[AY1975]

Thanks all!

So it seems I either need to arrive earlier, have a beer and wait until 19:00 Or try a different station further south.

Or do what someone did on a peak hour Southeastern train back in 2006: wrap your bike in wrapping paper and parcel tape and then take it on as an ordinary piece of luggage, as there are (at least in theory) no restrictions on bulky items of luggage as long as they won't get in anyone's way or create a safety hazard. See https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/...r-cyclist-can-get-round-train-ban-bhl2pqlz5gt (unfortunately you can only read the full story if you're a Times subscriber). Even then there's no guarantee that they would let you on, but it might be worth a try if you don't mind wrapping it up before going through the barrier! It worked for him!

I would guess that similar anomalies might apply to peak hour trains on cross-city routes in other major cities such as Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow.

 

[AY1975]

It goes all the way to Brighton/Horsham basically because Brighton has a peak hour of its own which is often contra to the flow to or from London.

But on a northbound train that starts its journey before the evening peak and passes through central London during the restricted period, such as the 15.25 Horsham-Peterborough, I would guess that anyone getting on with a bike at Horsham, or any other station south of the central London Thameslink core, could safely stay on the train as far as East Croydon (or potentially as far as London Bridge, but that could be risky as the station staff at London Bridge might then ask you what you were doing and you might have to fight your way through massive crowds of commuters).