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news
Eurostar announce increase in cycle trafficEurostar scraps bike box size restrictions
Eurostar has changed its cycle carrying policy to allow customers to travel with a bike box of any size, after road.cc questioned the maximum size limitation, which was smaller than any bike box we have tested.
The company confirmed to road.cc last week that bikes will soon need to be boxed to travel on Eurostar, which prompted dismay from road.cc readers and campaigners who say having to dismantle bikes before travelling will make international train travel harder for cyclists.
Although Eurostar has now scrapped its original size restrictions altogether, which limited a bike box to a maximum 129 x 84 x 26cm, campaigners say the boxing rule is still a backwards step by the company, whom it accuses of treating cyclists as third class passengers. At present cyclists can take a whole bike on the train, though the bike must be taken to its EuroDespatch office at least 60 minutes before travel.
- Eurostar's new bike carrying policy gets complicated
A Eurostar spokesperson told road.cc: "Passengers with bikes have and continue to be important to us. Our new policy has been introduced so that we can use the space on our trains more flexibly, by carrying the same or more bikes depending on the demand from passengers.
"The only change is that bikes will now need to be carried in a bike box, which we are happy to provide. When packaging bikes in this way, they take up less space which means that we can carry more bikes, or any other type of luggage."
- Latest reviews of bike bags & cases
The CTC's Sam Jones told road.cc the new rules represent a backward step by Eurostar, at a time when cycling is increasing in popularity in London and Paris, and other high speed international rail operators in Europe are making it easier to carry bikes.
He said: "We are aware of the situation and we are concerned that this is a regressive step by Eurostar, not taking complete bikes.
"We are seeing intercity trains in Germany and Austria that can take complete bikes and then we're seeing Eurostar saying that you are still paying £30 to box up your bike."
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Jones says new cyclists not familiar with disassembling and reassembling bikes, or those using bikes as mobility aids, will be particularly affected by the new rules.
He said: "What happens when you get to your destination? Are Eurostar staff going to help you assemble and disassemble your bike?"
"It is not at all for the benefit of cycling, cyclists are being treated as third class passengers."
According to the CTC there has been no consultation with any cycling body on the changes, and Jones says the first time he spoke with Eurostar about this was three weeks ago, when CTC "reached out to them" with the European Cyclists' Federation (ECF).
Eurostar company hasn't yet confirmed when the rule change will come into force, but says it will be before the end of this year. Eurostar trains will travel direct from London to Amsterdam, Europe's cycling capital, towards the end of next year.
- Off on your hols? Compare the cost of bike transport on planes to make a better booking
If that still sounds a bit complicated coach company Bike Express takes cyclists and their bikes, unboxed, to 25 locations in France and Spain.
Laura Laker is a freelance journalist with more than a decade’s experience covering cycling, walking and wheeling (and other means of transport). Beginning her career with road.cc, Laura has also written for national and specialist titles of all stripes. One part of the popular Streets Ahead podcast, she sometimes appears as a talking head on TV and radio, and in real life at conferences and festivals. She is also the author of Potholes and Pavements: a Bumpy Ride on Britain’s National Cycle Network.
Latest Comments
- brooksby 29 min 38 sec ago
You mean that they are Otherwise Law-Abiding™ ?
- brooksby 37 min 29 sec ago
What fresh devilry is this??? - perhaps they had a design for some handlebars, and another design for some forks, and somewhere along the line the...
- brooksby 41 min 8 sec ago
And finally: I wonder how many of the "more than 3,000" signatures on that petition are actually locals, who live or work there (and are not just...
- Doug_D 2 hours 16 min ago
Another book suggestion - I can highly recommend "Lost Summers and Half-Forgotten Afternoons: A Mint Sauce collection" - a beautifully presented...
- chrisonabike 3 hours 29 min ago
But... the last is only not the case with drivers on normal roads because driving on the cycle path / footway / rolling a vehicle up there is seen...
- mdavidford 4 hours 7 min ago
I think you're missing an opportunity to pack even more tech into it - add accelerometers that can detect whether they're pedalling or stepping....
- chrisonabike 4 hours 32 min ago
Thanks. I guess the question is "need". If the road is busy, it sounds like it is a desired route between places? In which case (given this an...
- mdavidford 4 hours 40 min ago
Don't know what you mean. I thought my suggestion was entirely practical.
- Rapha Nadal 5 hours 14 min ago
I'd buy a motorbike fo rthat kind of money!
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24 comments
PLEASE start campaining for bike bags to be used on all trains in the UK and Eurostar. Here in Japan you have to buy a bag that covers the whole bike, but once you do, it means you can take it on any train. These are small bags (will fit in a water bottle when rolled up) that you take your front wheel off and pop the bike into (takes about 3 minutes to pack).
Think about it - bike packed away, taking up minimal space and no chance of passengers getting grease/water/mud on them so hence no need to ban bikes from busy trains.
In the past few years I've been mountain biking in Portugal and Italy, flown both times and hired bike. Much easier than packing bike into a box or bag and struggling with it (as well as luggage). Probably cheaper in long run, but I don't mind paying a premium for the ease of travelling.
It would be great if someone could video the whole process of dismantling a bike (especially a tourer) to highlight to Eurostar just how impractical this is.
Eurostar's service is very popular, so a boycott won't work. Pressure from politicians, cycling groups and business leaders will be more effective especially if grassroots cyclists continue to raise the issue on social media.
Better still - Road.cc should ask someone from the Eurostar press office to demonstrate how to do it for the camera. I'm sure a member could provide a loaded tourer for the occasion!
Solution - get a Brompton.
I'm really let say "annoyed" - in the past I packed my bike in a bag ( http://innercitymobility.blogspot.de/2012/02/essential-travel-gear-part-... ) and paid a total of 20 quid, if this no longer possible I may have to terminate my business relationship with Eurostar.
Things already went worse in 2013 ( http://innercitymobility.blogspot.de/2013/09/b-like-brompton-bike-or-bla... ) and for riding holiday in Scotland that expensive RCC membership proves worth less than a penny because of its three days renting limit.
So bumping up my emissions like driving a VW diesel it will be on the plane.
On the bright side, it's safe to say it will still be less hassle than trying to book a cycle reservation on Virgin trains.
Too right and now virgin have taken over the east coast line it's pretty much good bye to long distance train travel with a bike in the UK.
I used virgin this summer for a group of 4 and it was a total effing faff. In the end I phoned customer relations as the Bangalore boys were less than helpful. We travelled but customer relations split our group up and caused more paper faff. Forget it, never again unless they bring back the guards van.
For those who are experienced in boxing up their bike for travel - would the cardboard box that Eurostar are providing not allow you to simply take your front wheel off the bike, handlebars out of the stem and fit all that in the box? I'm talking a standard road bike here.
Also, I wasn't clear whether a box is provided on the French (Paris) side?
Worth checking out Eurotunnel. It goes twice a day and takes 8 complete bikes each time. The cost is also less than Eurostar at £25 for you and your bike.
Eurostar charges £30 just for your bike.
Can I change onto a regular train on the French side or do I need to ride to somewhere else?
You'll need to ride on elsewhere unfortunately, and also make your way to where Eurotunnel heads off from the UK which isn't in London.
the pickup/drop off points are detailed here
You'd need to ride (about 20 minutes or so) to Gare de Calais-Ville (for TGV AND regional TER services) or Calais-Frethun, or about 30km to Boulogne where you can get an Intercité that has a guards van that takes ~20 bikes.
Boxing up a loaded touring bike with racks will be an effing nightmare. Doubly-so if you are running late. Given racks are often fixed with loctite / locknuts, undoing/redoing will get boring *real fast*. If you are touring with children, just no effing way. Non.
What this says is: PEOPLE OF THE UK: Drive to France, park up, then ride.
How do you disassemble and box a cargo trike? And I note Eurostar did not respond to the point about mobility aids?
The new rule is a real pain for touring. The ferry is still an option and is cheap and easy and I will consider Bike Express in the future for longer trips.
So the changes help - but not enough. The great thing about trains is that you should be able to cycle to the station, put your bike on the train, and cycle off at your destination.
A lot of the UK lines make this far more difficult than it should be - but at least possible with some planning. Pretty disappointing for a company majority owned by the French.
This will kill off a lot of London-Paris attempts as there is no easy way home now. What is the matter with these people?! Hanging whole bikes was so wonderfully straight forward.
What other cargo can be needing the space that this frees up? Presumably whatever it is, they make more margin from it.
The other cargo are called people! They will be able to get at least 6-8 extra seats onto the trains. Don't know what a eurostar ticket is these days but I'd imagine that equates to a grand or two in total extra revenue per train, with little or no extra overhead.
How are they going to seat passenger in the area they formerly used to hang whole bikes in ?! Is this some new "cattle class" they are introducing?
The strong suggestion from the article is they need the space to be more flexible for different types of luggage. I'm just puzzled as to what this is.
I believe it is shopping.
Im sure they may have scrapped the size rule, but they will still (i expect) have a pile of small boxes that they will be providing 'free' should you turn up and need a box. So you are fine for your outward journey where you can pack at home in a bigger box, not so much for the return.
Cycle express ? Dead link at the mo' and I can't find any references to it.
There's (European) bike express, they've been around since '93 according to their blurb, tho limited to two main routes afaia.
The link is (now, at least) to Bike Express. It works.