Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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Yeah, a lot goes on on ScotRail.
https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/scottish-news/4859441/scotrail-sex...
Presumably they have it all on CCTV, and have footage of the perps before, during and after the incident?
Not even just the train, try a swimming pool:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-16050308
Seems like we may have a competitor for "Florida Man".
That's terrible! The cyclist manages to actually get their bike *on* a train (akin to gathering hens teeth, I gather) and someone steals it?
Taking bikes on Scotrail commuter trains is easy - no reservations or time restrictions. It's longer distance services (whether in Scotland or elsewhere) that the problems tend to occur. Those trains tend to have very limited (and badly-designed) bike space and require reservations.
Didn't know that.
Even GWR commuter lines are not a problem, Such that if I want to take my bike from maidenhead to Exeter or Bristol, I must make a bike reservation for Reading to Exter/Bristol on the fast train, but I cannot make a reservation on the Maidenhead to Reading train. Meaning it's not possible to buy a single ticket for the trip online.
Also Chiltern rail trains - no reservations required. It's only when yyou get on the big Hitachi intercity trains which have no space for bikes other than the bike cupboards, where reservations become necesary.
I think most commuter routes (ironically, services on which you can't reserve seats or bike spaces) are OK. There are peak-time restrictions on those in/serving London (and maybe other places, I'm not sure) but otherwise it's fine.
Away from larger cities, each train often serves commuter and longer-distance trips, which is where it gets trickier.
I couldn't do my ride/rail/ride commute without simple access onto gwr's mdu service. Difficulties if I have to use the alternate route involving swt, which put restrictions on going into London in the am, and coming out in the pm. Big, long distance ones require more planning.
I've taken up and brought back my bike from John O'Groats a number of times, and the journey has been pretty easy. There was even some talk one year of the bike being insured automatically by Scotrail, though I don't know if that is still true. And it is such a brilliant place to ride, though the North Coast 500 isn't the cake walk it used to be due to the success of its advertising attracting usage beyond the capacity of the local services and facilities. There I feel demand has stretched beyond the capacity to service it, though I am sure someone out there will disagree.