Littgull wrote:As for Arriva Trains Wales, reservations for bikes are required. Last August, I took my bike on a family holiday to Snowdonia.The successive Saturdays for the outward and return trips between Manchester Piccadilly and Llandudno were absolutely horrific! Only 2 carriages (despite the first Saturday clashing with Chester Races and hordes of racegoers), massively overcrowded to a very dangerous level. People and luggage piled up and strewn all over the floor and against my bike. The poor train guard having to literally hopscotch over bodies and luggage.
On return from holiday I completed Arriva's online complaint form. I received a 'cut and paste' impersonal template style reply last week - 9 months later!!!!! It told me nothing and included a £10 rail travel voucher. I wasn't after compensation (albeit derisory). I just wanted some reassurance that they had improved things. Obviously, they haven't!
Sorry you had a bad experience on Arriva's service.
I've never deliberately booked my bike, or tandem, on the North Wales Service*. I usually do the run from either Warrington (using WCML to/from Wigan) or, more recently, from Newton-le-Willows to Chester, getting to Chester on a weekday for 9am, &, as I said, never had a problem. (going from Wigan is a shorter ride - 7.5 miles - & slightly quicker if the connection happens OK. N-l-W is a 15 mile ride but only 1 train all the way through - & seems less affected by weather & incidents). I've done N-l-W to Rhyl & back with bike & trailer too again with no problems. Maybe I just enjoy pushing the envelope. Now & again I've done Wigan to Chester, or vice versa, via Liverpool Lime St - again no problems (using Merseyrail & Northern). Even the tandem on the escalator at Lime Street I found to be easier than I anticipated (the tandem won't go in the lift either on its wheels or stood on the back wheel)! Apart from the last few weeks, I've probably been doing the trip to Chester & back by train & bike on average once a week for nearly 4 years now - some weeks I'll not do it at all but made up for the weeks when it has been 2 or sometimes 3 times in a week. I have, however, pretty much managed to avoid Chester Races as they aren't that frequent
(*I once accidentally got a reservation - I didn't know I could at the time - when I got one for a connecting Virgin train at Warrington & the guy behind the counter did me one for the Chester to Warrington section too. Mostly they just give me a reservation for the Virgin service.)
Former member of the Cult of the Polystyrene Head Carbuncle.