Cycling using trains (in UK and EU)

[beeb]

Think that is the azuma train, bikes hung vertically in a cabinet designed for four bikes.

[mjr]

Think that is the azuma train, bikes hung vertically in a cabinet designed for four bikes.

Yes, that's correct. The best bike carriage currently should be the Scotrail services operated with Intercity 125 trains, which is most of their Inverness-Aberdeen ones. I don't understand what a Turbostar is doing among them. Breakages or not enough 125-trained crews available, perhaps.

[Jdsk]

Just had a short holiday in northwest Scotland. Two adults, two tourers, two panniers and a bar bag on each.

Haddenham & Thame Parkway to London Marylebone

Can’t book bikes. Not allowed on rush hour trains.

Outbound
Put them in the lobby area. A bit of a nuisance for other people as they got on and off.
Awkward getting them through the platform gates as both tickets were on one ‘phone.

Return
Same on the platform gate.
Deliberately missed a train to get one with no intermediate stops.

Wouldn’t do anything differently next time, except would try to make it nonstop on the outbound journey.

Caledonian Sleeper: London Euston to Inverness

First time on the new rolling stock.

Compulsory bike reservations. Cheapest tickets so no lounge access.

Usual hours sitting at Euston with nowhere comfortable and nowhere designed for the bikes.

Outbound
Bikes loaded vertically hanging from front wheel. Bit of a wiggle to get them to the space. Didn’t need to rotate the handlebars despite expecting that from the advice. I was carrying an accessible hex wrench just in case. Guard said he’d never heard of the idea.
Tiny cabins. Less space for luggage than the old ones. Silly headrest on the bottom bunk. My wife said that the morning coffee was undrinkable.
Arrived early for a tight connection, and we weren’t told that we would be.

Return
Usual hours sitting at Inverness Station with nowhere comfortable and nowhere designed for the bikes.
Bike loading similar.
Hand wash basin in the toilets had no water.

Wouldn’t do anything differently next time

Inverness to Garve

Outbound
No bike reservations available despite trying online every day and ‘phoning. Moderately unpleasant lecture at the gate. Guard on train didn’t mind.
Nice bike space with horizontal protruding bar with straps. No lifting.

Return
Bike reservations but got an earlier train. Guard helpfully explained why reservations were a really good idea because it got very busy.
Same bike space.

Wouldn’t do anything differently next time

Conclusions

We’d do the same again. But all suggestions welcome.

Lovely weather. No midges. Watched Arctic skuas for the first time.

Jonathan

[Pendodave]

I'm just back from n/w Scotland as well. Didn't go via Inverness because of bike reservation shortage.
I'm curious if any bikes were on the train with no reservations? I am suspicious about the lack of reservations - I noticed an odd wrinkle when playing about with reserving on intermediate stations which made me think it was a bit odd.

Fwiw, I did Euston-Glasgow-oban return. No problem with reservations in both directions. Disappointed that neither oban train had the extra bike carriage.

Odd wrinkle - guard on Glasgow-oban made me hang bike by the rear wheel. Never come across that before. Maybe to keep handlebars away from head height?

[Jdsk]

I'm just back from n/w Scotland as well. Didn't go via Inverness because of bike reservation shortage.
I'm curious if any bikes were on the train with no reservations? I am suspicious about the lack of reservations - I noticed an odd wrinkle when playing about with reserving on intermediate stations which made me think it was a bit odd.

Outbound Inverness to Garve:
No reservation spaces available. 2 x 2 storage on the train. All used when we joined in without reservations.

Return Garve to Inverness:
Our reservations were for the train after the one we got so I hadn't checked the one on which we actually travelled. 2 x 2 storage. No other bikes. But the guard clearly knew that none were booked on.

Jonathan

[Jdsk]

Didn't go via Inverness because of bike reservation shortage.

I was anxious because we didn't have reservations. Plan B was to try the next train two hours later, which also had no reservations available. Plan C was to cycle to Garve and be picked up by car. Plan D was to go to Garve by taxi. Other possibilities had been the bus, but the sleeper arrived too late. And hiring a car, but very expensive.

Jonathan

[axel_knutt]

Caledonian Sleeper: London Euston to Inverness
Tiny cabins

I toyed with the idea of using the sleeper to come home from Inverness, but I guessed the bunks probably wouldn't be big enough for someone 6'5" tall, so I used the day train instead. Eight hours is a long journey, but I read a book from cover to cover, and it was quite satisfying to pass through many of the places I'd cycled through on the way up.

[Jdsk]

"LNER bike storage update":
viewtopic.php?t=151016
with photos.

Jonathan

[Jdsk]

Caledonian Sleeper: London Euston to Inverness
Tiny cabins

I toyed with the idea of using the sleeper to come home from Inverness, but I guessed the bunks probably wouldn't be big enough for someone 6'5" tall, so I used the day train instead. Eight hours is a long journey, but I read a book from cover to cover, and it was quite satisfying to pass through many of the places I'd cycled through on the way up.

I think that you made the right call. Although you could have tried the diagonal position in a double bed...

Jonathan

PS: Mixed feelings about viewing the journey in reverse: often interesting but the speed ratio can be a bit depressing! See also canal journeys.

[mjr]

PS: Mixed feelings about viewing the journey in reverse: often interesting but the speed ratio can be a bit depressing! See also canal journeys.

Yes, on a train, you pass by too quickly to enjoy much detail.

[hoogerbooger]

Recently back from LEJOG .....from a base in Swansea.

Outward

Best train for us would have been a GWR from Cardiff to Penzance on which bike and ticket could have been booked online ( as we know now, do this rather than trainline then bike reservations by phone)......However, we were too slow ( 5 weeks ahead) and no bike spaces available. (Swansea to Cardiff usually easy to get bike on).

Rechecking options, ticket purchased on trainline which had 2 changes: Taunton & Exeter. Phoned to book bikes. Told we'd have to change at Bristol Parkway instead of Taunton and use a Cross Country train. GWR legs booked for bikes.

Phoned Cross Country. told too early to book bikes on, that only 2 bikes could be booked on the train plus one other bike allowed........but they couldn't tell me when was the earliest time I could phone to book on that train. On querying they said new tranches become available every Friday. " At what time" " sorry can't really say....it varies.....we usually get an email at lunchtime, but the system isn't ready to book sometimes until late afternoon and occasionally not until Monday" . Cross Country's system seems daft and unhelpful to users. However I must say, that whilst I got frustrated phoning on the many occasions subsequently, until I managed to book the bikes on, I got through to customer services quickly each time I phoned and only once did I get critical bad advice ( when I was told there was no bike spaces available and "could I use another train"......to which I calmly said "no.....& can you check if reservations for that train have actually been released yet" " oh sorry you are right, looks like they haven't been released yet"


Then had a couple of weeks thinking what if the connections don't work. However they did and once on the cross country train we knew we should get to Penzance that day even ifthat connection was missed.....so we started to cheer up and were at Land's End that evening in glorious sunshine.

Return

I would have tried to use the sleeper from Inverness to Crewe. We could then have taken a train to Abergavenny and cycled to our other base. BUT I was convinced we'd get Covid before JOG and other family factors meant we might have to cut things short. So a one way van hire from Inverness to Swansea seemed the most flexible option with a train from Wick to Inverness. I left arrangements until we got to Inverness on the way up.

Having reworked/checked the itinerary I looked up ScotRails advice on bikes on trains. It said I had to book on the Wick to Inverness service, by phoning. I did and was told I could not book the bikes and it was 1st come 1st served as it wasn't a peak hour service. Stupidly I believed them, it was a Sunday train. I needed to know that I would get on a train to get the cheaper van hire deal ( which isn't cheap cos of the one way drop off fee) So I asked about Monday and was told that trains on Monday also couldn't reserve bikes spaces. All I was told was, " hopefully you'll be alright as it's Wick is te departure point for the train.

We turned up 2 hours early for the train and sat next to it, to beat any other 1st come 1st served cyclists (!! ho ho) guard turned up 20 mins before departure and said bikes needed to be booked...then went away to check if any others were booked on. Fortunately for the Scotrail staff on the day( who were very nice) I was in my third day of very painful back problems which mean I couldn't sit of stand......unless you have to go 2 hours early to the station make sure you catch a train. So I was in no fit state to kill anybody ......and get thrown off a train for unreasonable behaviour.......We did get on as luckily there was space.

I summary. I enjoy travelling on trains and would prefer to use them with bikes. But we have no adequate system for practically getting across country. We need a system where all legs of a journey can be booked online or on the phone.... for bikes and the train ticket(s) at the same time.......only then can we say we are a grown up and competent nation.

( I will go ad rest my back now...so apols for the no doubt numerous typos)

[Jdsk]

Great detail. Thanks. My recent experience with ScotRail upthread.

I remember discussing the van plan: how did that work in practice?

Jonathan

[hoogerbooger]

Only seemed to be Enterprise rental offering one way rental to Swansea. £180 just for the one way drop off fee. As it happened discounted train tickets appeared just in time to frustrate, that would have been about that for the two of us to get to Abergavenny (although I didn't check if bikespaces were available.

The car hire in Inverness town is not far from the railway station. I booked a Kangoo or similar sized van. On arrival I was told not available and offered a rather large vauxhall vivaro. I argue that was not what I booked and that what I wanted was the most fuel efficient van. The chap let us have the half tank of fuel and marked it down as empty. With my back this worked out well. No need to dismantle bikes & left to Missus to load ( I have no shame) Driving position was surprising bearable, in fact it was the most bearable I'd been for two days) and I ended up driving all the way. I kept to motorways and big roads to minimise gear changes and slip streamed lorries. We travelled over 2 days stopping at a relative near Carlise. I got over 50mpg from the van surprisingly.

Worth checking if you can pick up at 5pm and drop off at 5pm as might be able to do a 1 day hire and between 2 drivers drive without an overnight stop. Or could use a big van & kip in it.......but my back not up to that.

In Swansea drop off was 3 miles from our base....mostly by bike path. Cycling slowly was bearable....but to be honest I didn't want to give the 'comfy' van back

So worked out OK. In the circumstances I'm not sure my back would have coped with a long train journey. The one from Wick was painful enough. So this time I can cope with the carbon guilt.

(Anyway off now to break into someone's van and sit in it)

[Jdsk]

Thanks

Jonathan

[pal]

Odd wrinkle - guard on Glasgow-oban made me hang bike by the rear wheel. Never come across that before. Maybe to keep handlebars away from head height?

I've experienced that on that line too -- enforced by a really aggressive guard (who in fact called the cyclists on the train a word which wouldn't get past this forum's profanity filters, because we'd committed the crime of hanging bikes by the front wheel). I don't know what the rationale is -- perhaps it's deemed to be more space efficient? (I wasn't going to risk asking the Furious Guard...!)