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hey hive mind
What's the deal with bikes on french (and swiss) trains at the mo?
Travelling to geneva on monday with a bike, and getting trains to Bourg st maurice.
was planning to build bike up in GVA and leave bag at left luggage, but would i be better off leaving it in the bag? do i have to book in advance?
cheers
I've just (an hour ago) returned from BsM on the TGV. There's no room for unassembled bikes so I'd leave it in the bag and carry it on. No need to book assuming 'standard' bike bag. The Regional (non TGV) trains have hanging hooks for assembled bikes so if that's your chariot from Geneva, you may get away with it.
If not boxed, some swiss routes will charge extra for a bike, so you might need 2 tickets.
In France there is often a limit on bikes per train, and much lower than the number of Bike hangers that have been fitted. But my experience in both countries are on regional trains rather than TV. I've not tried pre booking.
French timetable should tell you if the train accepts bikes or not. If it does, there should be hooks to hang your fully-assembled bike and it shouldn't cost anything extra.
If not, in bike bag should be OK.
There is, in theory, a limit to the number of bikes, but I have seen / been responsible for trains carrying several times the normal number of bikes and the conductors have usually been pretty helpful about it.