Share your bikes-on-trains photos and win a prize in the National Cycle Rail Awards Photography Competition

The competition rules state you have to give away your copyright to them, which is taking the p*ss.

Sadly there seems to be little parity or joined up thinking with Scot Rail. On one occasion I was told that I could book my bike between Stranraer and Ayr. After that I was on my own to complete my trip to Glasgow and warned that the conductor could put me off on that stage if he thought I was a risk. On another occasion I couldn't book between Ayr and Stranraer as the route was too busy and they only had two coaches running. I ended up changing all my schedules as a result. I have also been advised that if there is issues with the line and they need to transfer passengers to coaches I will not be able to take my bike!

Tony the OYBikes were pulled from Reading Station at least 3 years ago - havn't you got something more up to date like Cyclepoint in Leeds/Norwich &c, Merseyrail Bike Hire at Southport or Brompton Docks at various stations (often with a train in the background)

There clearly is supreme ignorance on the part of Gkam84 and CraigS - perhaps they never attempt to travel by train? . Maybe some of those who participated in POP2 on 19th May took pictures of their journeys home by train could prove to them that there are few problems in getting bikes aboard trains in Scotland (my personal 'counted off' record was 37 on a 3 coach train, for a cycle route opening event). For POP1 we had a report of 36 bikes on one 4-coach train back to Glasgow, and I (as a pretty regular traveller by train) do spot counts whenever I can en route. POP2 seemed to work brilliantly - staff ensured every train left Edinburgh with as many of the waiting cyclists on board as could be fitted in, and the crowd cleared well before 19.00.

Typically for an off-peak service going to a popular cycling destination, around 10% of the passengers are travelling with bikes. The 14.15 'boat train' for Arran typically has summer loadings to fill 50% of the seated capacity, and 10% of the passengers have cycles, and we've had up to 18 bikes on one of those services - no problems at all, with the old trains, and unlikely to be with the new ones either.

8 bikes does seem to be about the limit for a 2-bike provision on a train, and the C2C cycle route saw Northern adding an extra coach to some services to accommodate the bikes more comfortably with up to 8 bikes going on to the usual 70-seat train. Reverse-flow commuters in Bristol did some monitoring of their 2 regular morning trains when making the case for appropriate choice of the replacement trains. Their 70-seat train regularly got 7 cycles and the 102 seat one hit a peak of 14 bikes - for roughly 40% of the passengers.

Across most of the TOC's through working with the managers AND the front line staff, we've generally achieved some success, but not always the perfect product first time. Remember it to the SF Bicycle Coalition 41 years to get unrestricted access to BART trains. We've just started talking to TfL about DLR and some mainstream bus and coach operators about more formal arrangements for cycle carriage.

I do however agree with kobacom. On long distance trains, the formal provision is inadequate for the peak demand, with very little flexibility, largely the fault of DfT for insisting on rigid layouts of fixed seating which runs around outside the peak times carrying fresh air, but almost impossible to use for carrying cycles. To attempt to manage this limited space the TOC's who pay for a seat reservation service have adapted this to provide a way to reserve cycle spaces. So that is only about half of the train operators offer a facility to reserve a bike space, using a bodged solution, which requires 2 'seat' reservations. The ticketing system 'prohibits' the issue of 2 seat reservations for one ticket and so you need to know how to by-pass the system to book a bike space (still following this?). Of course this means training the staff to do this (not all staff are trains to do this), and there is no financial reward for issue of a free bike reservation, so the independent ticket sellers like Trainline won't do bike reservations (as they don't get any commission paid for it).

The other great issue is that the ticketing and timetable systems are not well integrated for various historic issues, and the last time a major overhaul was undertaken in December 2004 the railway on-line sales arrangements fell apart for over 6 months as the industry struggled to repair the damage. To deliver a 'good fit' cycle booking service on its own would never get agreement, to deliver it whan the system is next upgraded - maybe - but it will need to be paid for by someone, and as the current system is just about delivering, it is unlikely anyone would want to take the risk or find the funding.

Other solutions? Well, one might be to issue specific bicycle tickets, with or without a charge, but that opens another can of worms.

Fundamentally there is a need for the TOC's to understand the variety of markets for combining cycling with rail travel. Some, like commuters, travelling when trains are filled with passengers will have a clear price point/value for delivering the facility to ride a bike to and from their train and transferring between the modes with minimal delay. This could mean
1) fast access and retrieval of bikes from a secure bike park (Cyclepoint and other systems)
2) fast access and return of a bike hired to travel out and back (Bike'n'Go - Abellio now rolling out to nearly 60 locations)
3) a folding bike - owned, or hired when required for a week of commuting or a specific journey (Brompton Dock)

Other markets may be for leisure cycling, where a very different sort of bike hire is appropriate - Abellio are very clear that Bike'n'Go is primarily hiring bikes for a day to pre-registered users for general purpose cycling. Scotrail has worked with a chain of bike hire operators to offer point to point cycling an long distance cycle routes.

Elsewhere Road CC carries the news of the DLR trial of cycle carriage, and in the discussions we learned from staff who had researched the position elsewhere, that one TOC actually added a carriage to trains serving a popular cycle route corridor to cope with the demand for cycle space.

Whilst there may be a bit of biting the lip there is a lot more to be gained from getting 'inside the tent' than ranting outside about claims which I think are vastly exaggerated - perhaps it is the way that those who claim they experience problems go about getting bikes on board which provides the self fulfilling result of a refusal.

Having fitted 8 bikes on a 70-seat single carriage (with 50 passengers aboard) and another 8 bikes in to the 2-bike (official) space on a 140-seat train with 76 passengers aboard, after a polite and swift negotiation with the guard, based on the fact that it was only for a couple of stops and we would keep (well actually we had kept) the gangway clear, and loaded the bikes in seconds in a stack 2-high between floor and ceiling - secured with straps and bungees.

Took a motorbike on the train from Crewe to Leicester and back in 1974 with no problems...how times have changed!

Am I the only one who's had quite experiences of taking bikes on trains? Getting to London is normally ok. Made Cardiff to Brighton with no issues (and two changes) a few months ago, and for a while did Cardiff to Bristol quite regularly. It is pretty much the ultimate integrated transport system.

As for booking - book online with East Coast and you can book your bike space at the same time for any companies services.

I know I'm in the minority here, but I just came back from taking my bike to Scotland and I thought the rail service was fine. As much as I dislike the price gougers, at least they do provide a service for bikes these days.

There wasn't a huge amount of space for more than three bikes, so it's not yet continental standards, but considering that a while ago you couldn't do it at all, I think it's not a bad service.

Pi** taking at it's most cynical

i need to take my bike into london next week, despite the fact the train I normally get at 7:30 would have room, because of the restrictions I have to get a train at 6:45 instead.
ace.

Quote:

We are looking for the best photographic imagery that captures the essence of the Cycle-Rail journey

I'll take a photo of me without my bike on the train then!

If you can get a bike on a train you should win more than a go pro camera. I work in the rail industry and I can tell you trying to get booking for Bikes is like trying to find the goldern fleece. Most rail companies only allow two cycles per train, so if you want to take your bikes on the train as a family, well, lets just say, it will be difficult.

Well, I'm NOT allowed to take my bike on a train from Aberdeen station, that's my nearest station....so I'm out