Anyone taken a bike on a train?

ThriceNightly · 6 Dec 2017 at 17:13

Hi anyone with experience of doing this? I've not been on a train in quite a few years though understand train company's offer this service. Was wondering how this works in practise.

I'm looking to buy an electric bike via auction site and bring back on train.

Its a full size bike (not folding) not a long journey approx 90mins (2 changes) and off peak.

Is there a special compartment for bikes?

Cheers

Street · 6 Dec 2017 at 17:15

Loads of people take them on around here, just wheel them on and stand in the entrance bit near the doors with it, or prop it up and sit near by.

Minusorange · 6 Dec 2017 at 17:15

You just get on the train with your bike and wait by the doors

Glaucus · 6 Dec 2017 at 17:18

Need to find out what company the train is. Round here (GWR https://www.gwr.com/plan-journey/journey-information/on-board/cycles ) you are meant to pre book a bike on the service. But I believe it depends on the company.
And yes there's bike racks, and you'll see a bike symbol on the doors.

Semple · 6 Dec 2017 at 17:18

Depends on the TOC.

I travelled for a good few years with a full sized bike on GWR trains, so have first hand experience with them.

Reservations are starting to become a must for most TOCs i've travelled with.

GWR has a compartment of 6 at one end of the train, CrossCountry have 3 spaces also near one end of the train.

EDIT: Also worth adding, if you're planning on travelling during peak times then they can pretty much be fully booked.

The bikes are usually crammed on, so don't have anything you don't mind getting scratched/scuffed. I remember seeing one guy have a hissy fit cause he had to cram his expensive bike in with everyone else - fool should have travelled on an off-peak train when it's much quieter.

explicit4u · 6 Dec 2017 at 17:19

Went from London to Bristol last year with GWR.

They had a special compartment at the front of the train with a bike rack inside. They didn't offer a booking service and stated it was first come first serve.

FlakGunna · 6 Dec 2017 at 17:21

Yeah I do it all the time, gets me places quicker you see.

hughtrimble · 6 Dec 2017 at 17:27

Just go off peak times and you should be fine.

ThriceNightly · 6 Dec 2017 at 17:31

Thanks guys encouraging answers

Yep definite going off peak

Will check with both rail companys (greater anglian / south eastern) if i need to make a reservation.

Semple · 6 Dec 2017 at 18:06

explicit4u said:
They didn't offer a booking service and stated it was first come first serve.

Depends on the kind of ticket you had. As i only ever bought daily tickets, you have to reserve your bike at the same time as reserving a seat.

A guy who was also regularly travelling had an annual pass and had to go to the ticket office each month to reserve/print a months worth of ticket reservations (they wouldn't go longer than a month).

Sounds like they just couldn't be bothered when you bought your tickets. Unfortunately first come first serve isn't a fair system if you allow reservations.

I remember one morning there was 4 of us regular commuters travelling between Swindon and Bristol Parkway, so we always had bike reservations as that lines normally pretty busy. Anyway there must have been some cycle event on in Bristol or Cardiff that day as when the train arrived at Swindon there were 6 road bikes already on the train. The train manager is normally at the compartment door, and after we'd shown him that we'd reserved the Swindon to Bristol Parkway leg, he got on the train found the group of blokes who's bikes were in the compartment and said 4 of them had to take their bikes off at Swindon and wait for the next train. That obviously caused a bit of an uproar, and the train manager was probably being a bit of a jobsworth.

Bear · 6 Dec 2017 at 19:24

TFL allows bikes on trains without having to make a reservation but you have to do it during off peak hours. Its not allowed during peak hours.

BennyC · 6 Dec 2017 at 19:46

I had an interesting argument in Germany with a ticket inspector, things are a bit different over there.... More-so when boredom results in you assembling it out of a travel case on the platform

Jonny ///M · 6 Dec 2017 at 20:37

Have taken my bike regularly on normal local trains in and out of Glasgow and just get on the more modern trains where the symbol is on the carriage. Usually the disabled one and the bike can go near the loo with no booking.

Trains that get really busy like the Glasgow - Edinburgh then they sometimes only have 3 bikes per end of the train so can fill up real quick and you have no chance getting a bike between the doors.

Oban - Glasgow in the summer you have to book a bike as you can turn up and have 20 tourists taking all the spots but be fine in the winter. The diesel trains here have hanging racks with space for about 10 bikes at each end of the train.

PardonTheWait · 7 Dec 2017 at 01:03

Both lines that run from my area of Essex to London have one carriage out of four that is the toilet/bike carriage. It's half a normal carriage, and the other half is fitted out with a great big toilet, and an area with fold out seats that can house a few bikes. You just get on that carriage and you can park your bike against the wall. There's two of those carriages on longer trains.

I've also seen plenty of people get on the normal carriages and just stand with their bikes by the doors although it probably wouldn't work too well on packed peak time trains.

HoneyBadger · 28 Dec 2017 at 18:49

I used to take mine on South Eastern to London at peak but it was/is a folding bike. A Dahon Matrix 2007 2x26” Hybrid MTB. I still have it, great peice of kit.