[Closed] Train + Bike = good idea?

reserve a space for some trains especially virgin

reserve for most train nowadays, especially longer distance. you can book online with the odd train companies but most of them you will need to either phone up or go to a staion. you can't get a train reservation until you have bought your ticket so you need to find out if there are bike spaces on the train before you buy. for virgin you can only get a train reservation from a station with a ticket office

the state of bikes on train travel in this country is unbelievable, truly a disgusting state of affairs.

I live in Aberystwyth and frequently take my bike on the train.

Go to the ticket office and ask for a bicycle reservation with your tickets. It costs nothing extra and reserves a place for your bike.

I'd check the specific train, I **think** that some companies prohibit it at rush hour.

I ended up buying a bike bag, which meannt no problem.

Cant see "rush hour" being much of an issue between Netwon Abbot and Aber somehow! lol Unless you are planning to go via london (which i doubt)

Good suggestion about the bike bag, as it just becomes luggage then.

the state of bikes on train travel in this country is unbelievable, truly a disgusting state of affairs.

I had a nightmare trip with a bike on a train once. I had reserved places for the bike but they cancelled the train. The replacement had no where for the bike so I took it in the carriage. Guard said I wasn't allowed to have the bike because I hadn't reserved. I explained about the cancelled train and he shrugged and told me to get off his train. Next train had a place for bikes so I got on. A couple of stations along and the guard said I hadn't reserved a slot and 3 other people had so threw me off train. 7 freckin hours travelling because one train cancelled

Sit near where your bike is stored on the train (usually a cabin behind the Engine). Bikes do get nicked.

the quiet carriage is often next to the bike storage

For balance, I once travelled from Leominster (?) to London via Newport with a tandem that I hadn't got a reservation for. I got no hassle at all. I do Wimbledon to Surrey Hills and back by train frequently, which is dead easy.

It's usually fine, but reserve if you can. 🙂

I ended up buying a bike bag, which meannt no problem.

Good suggestion about the bike bag, as it just becomes luggage then.

Not so as I found out the other week travelling from Leeds to London.
As my bike was in a bike bag I thought I'd not bother booking a space for it. Turns out that as the bag is oversized luggage and has to go in the guards van, as I'd not pre warned them I had to pay a fiver on the spot. If I had just booked it on beforehand there would have been no charge, if all available bike spaces had been taken I wouldn't have been able to board the train.
Lesson:
Be warned, a bike in a bag is still treated as a bike and the train people can and will get arsey about it.

I needed to travel up from Guildford to Nottingham with my bike the other day and was concerned about the whole buy tickets and then book bike thing... in the end I phoned up South West Trains and the guy there was able to check bike reservations on the spot and book the tickets all in one call.

So would be worth giving the train company ticket office a call and see if they can sort it all out for you.

i just get on scotrail ones. only problem i get is from women with a dozen kids all camped in the bike spaces and drunk scottish louts.

for longer distance (N express and virgin) just book - the NE website has something you can click to add a bike - its easy.

scotrail are ok, you need a reservation if you are travelling out of a major city IME but the guards are normally pretty chilled about it, we had trouble on the Fort william-glasgow line because the guard had let people put their luggage in the cycle places.

hmm, never had a prob out of edinburgh. but yep, people leaving luggage in the bike spaces pisses me off, esp when they get arsey about it...

never had a problem but it's the potential for disaster that is the problem. If you are travelling north then you could be on th eonly train that day or the last one and it's first come first served for the 3 spaces on the train. Admittedly high season but on the way to Pitlochry this summer there were 5 french cycle tourists trying to get on at Edinburgh just after us. Luckily the guard hadn't seen us get on before them.

the virgin ones have moved, now usualy in the middle of the train somewhere. And only space for 3 bikes.

Take a little £5 cable-lock form halfords etc, doesn't need to be tough, just secure enough to stop someone walking off with the bike.

yeah the new virgin accommodation is useless, right in the way of people pushing to get on and off. well done Virgin.

Thank you all who replied i have managed (finally) to book tickets and reserve a bike space, will post up how it goes!

the drama is killing me cant wait to hear how it works out

Luck seems to play a big part. Local service trains tend to be a lot more relaxed about things. In the last couple of months I've travelled from Derby to Hope, Matlock, Rugeley, and Church Stretton with no reservations and no problems and I'm about to check the timetables for Matlock on Sunday - provided that whatever bug that has my throat in a deathgrip relents by tomorrow.

So, yeah, in answer to the question: Train+Bike=Goodness

If you reserve then you can hopefully avoid the scrum for a space & avoid commuting times.. 🙂

😆 kimbers
yeah i have managed to reserve a bike space even though they seemed to be booked up miles in advance, have to travel late evening but that doesnt really bother me and its cheaper too, looking forward to seeing if there is room for my wiiide bars too!
cheers people happy biking

Newton Abbott to brum will probably be a cross country(arriva) service, bike space is usually good as they removed the buffet car and put the bike space in instead! Arriva trains wales run from birmingham international to Aber, try and get on there if possible, New st will be a mare, and Wolverhampton will be even worse (Wolverhampton is now where most TOC's advise passengers to change because its easier due to there only being 4 platforms apposed to New st's 12

yeah newton abbot to brum should be ok, its getting on the aber train thats an arse cos all the students like to fill the cycle bays with their luggage which makes getting a bike in a pain.
i usually take my bike in a bike bag which makes it a bit easier to put it in places where a bike would cause agro.

ah lame i'm booked to go from Bham new street! ah good news bout the cross country service i'm booked in with them sounds like there will be room.
I don't have a bike bag...tempted to go mad with a big roll of bubble wrap 8)

Word of warning... Virgin Trains are by in far the least bike friendly of any of the UK train companies I've been unfortunate to use. Sort it out Mr. Branson! The rigmoral you've got to go through to get the bike checked on the train is a joke - you've got to have booked your bike on the train before the train has left it's home station (even if there's no other bikes on or booked on the same train). Madness