More space on trains?

[kwackers]

This thought suddenly occurred to me...

If as is suggested public transport capacity will end up being a fraction of what it is now - with social distancing being the driving factor.
Surely this means all that unused space on trains rather than being filled with unusable seats could be turned into space for bicycles...

Not sure how it would work, you need to break up the seating with bicycle storage but it's not impossible.

I wonder how they're going to police social distancing on trains anyway. Given the lengths some folk will go to to get a space on a packed train I can't imagine them thinking they'd wait for the next one when there's obviously lots of space in the carriage.

[Cyril Haearn]

Simples, remove lots of seats
I quite like standing on a train or bus (I hold on with gloved hands) as long as one can see out of the windows (many windows do not go high enough so one has to stoop to read station signs)

[mercalia]

This thought suddenly occurred to me...

If as is suggested public transport capacity will end up being a fraction of what it is now - with social distancing being the driving factor.
Surely this means all that unused space on trains rather than being filled with unusable seats could be turned into space for bicycles...

Not sure how it would work, you need to break up the seating with bicycle storage but it's not impossible.

I wonder how they're going to police social distancing on trains anyway. Given the lengths some folk will go to to get a space on a packed train I can't imagine them thinking they'd wait for the next one when there's obviously lots of space in the carriage.

I haven't dared to use the trains or buses for atleast a month, partly concerned I will be stopped by Mr Plod. I do watch the buses go by maybe 5-6 people on them ( a double decker)

[simonineaston]

I have to say that the simple solution to the problem of there being too many seats, too close to each other - remove seats and replace with bike spaces - is so elegant, so logical and so timely, that it is almost certainly going to be ignored by the train companies. Let's face, it they don't exactly have a history of Doing The Right Thing, do they? It'll be totally without their company culture...

[PH]

With public transport going to seriously struggle to cope with demand, it's hard to imagine them doing anything to deliberately increase it.

[rogerzilla]

The new Hitachi Class 800 trains have more or less killed one-way rides around here. There are usually 4 bike spaces but in practice you can only fit 2 bikes because the compartments are so narrow; and I'm talking two drop-bar touring bikes, not MTBs with massive riser bars. A couple of hipster fixies with 12 inch wide bars might do it. Even the train manager had a go with our tourers, and gave up. That's if the spaces are even clear - normally they are stuffed with luggage and, on Penzance-bound trains, surfboards.

You normally end up standing in the vestibule holding one bike if there are two of you. GWR aren't interested. We don't pay extra for bikes so, as far as they're concerned, we can go and do one.

Sorry, rant over!

[Jdsk]

"New Hitachi Rail Europe Class 800/801 Series Train Interior Designed With Pedal Powered Traveller" Appealhttps://compositesuk.co.uk/system/files/documents/Hitachi%20Bike%20storage%20Unit%20Article_Final.pdf

!

Jonathan

[Cyril Haearn]

What rubbish
Best solution is simple: remove lots of seats so guests may stand, store cycles, prams, luggage
Much cheaper too

[Bmblbzzz]

Removing seats might not be as simple as it sounds. Firstly, the technical process: it might be just a matter of undoing a couple of bolts per seat, it might be rather more than that - it's going to vary from train to train. Secondly, you have to do this while observing social distancing, including while carrying the seats. Thirdly, where are the ToCs going to store the removed seats - or will it be a job for the RosCos? Fourthly, no one knows how long social distancing will be in place or in what form - a month, six months, a year? At some point the whole process is going to have to be repeated. Fifthly, it prevents members of one household from occupying adjacent seats so on more leisure-oriented services might actually reduce capacity. Sixthly, in relation to storing bikes in the space provided, it is probable some other customers will complain about dirty chains etc and of course virus risk from the bikes themselves. Seventhly, possible warranty infringements (the seats aren't just installed like office furniture, they have to be installed correctly for crash resistance etc). Lastly, as PH says, ToCs don't want passengers effectively taking up two-three spaces with one ticket.

[Cyril Haearn]

Simples, new trains could have multipurpose areas with no seats to start with

[Cyril Haearn]

Multipurpose area

images-9.jpeg (7.15 KiB) Viewed 1153 times

This has space for cycles plus tip-up seats
Sometimes the tip-up seats are locked

Just right for prams, wheelchairs, cycles etc etc

[kwackers]

Fourthly, no one knows how long social distancing will be in place or in what form - a month, six months, a year? At some point the whole process is going to have to be repeated.

Is it?

Our lifestyles pretty much guarantee a pandemic, for well over 20 years we've been told that one is only a matter of time (longer than that if you listened to the expert nut cases).

We've dodged a number of bullets so far but it's just a dice game and the more we move about and the closer we live and work together the more chance of it happening.

C19 might be the first that managed to break the shackles and fortunately it's not that nasty.
It won't be the last though.

So the question is: Will we ever go back to the way things were? Will it be necessary to revert any changes we make to the rolling stock?

I'm not so sure. I think things will head back that way but they'll probably never be quite the same.

[Cyril Haearn]

Some of the seats on TSOs are so close together, only people below average height can use them comfortably
Let us stand!

[toontra]

I've had to put up with the GWR Hitachi "shower cubicles" for over a year now. They are indeed totally crap and it's unbelievable that they were deemed to be functional or appropriate, unless the design brief was to deter as many cyclists as possible. I'm saddened that there wasn't more of an outcry from CUK, possibly even the threat of legal action relating to regulations on sustainable travel and environmental impact. We're going to be stuck with these POS for many years to come.

In the near future (lockdown permitting) I'll be taking an LNER from London to Aberdeen. Presumably I'm in for the same sort of misery. It remains to be seen how easy it is to get a bike on one of these under current regulation. The website says you have to contact LNER via their chat portal before thinking of taking a bike, so it's not as simple as just making a reservation any more.

[Cyril Haearn]

A perfect example of using a lot of money to make something worse, the thick walls of the cycle cell use material, take space, the electrics for light and doors, locking
Probably costs as much as a buying a holiday caravan at Rhyl