Getting to the Vennbahn

[willem jongman]

The current train link is being replaced by a light rail system to better integrate it with other local public transport (i.e. the Rotterdam Underground). I expect that will allow bikes as well, but ticketing may become a bit more complex (I don't know). Also, there will no longer be a direct connection at Rotterdam Central railway station. For trains to the Hague and Amsterdam you can change at Schiedam, for Utrecht you will have to change from metro to trains at Rotterdam Alexander (on the Eastern side of Rotterdam), and for trains to the south at Rotterdam Beurs metro station. It looks like all this will be doable, but not as convenient as before. For local commuters much of this will be very convenient, of course. I will try to find some more information about bicycles on the new network.
Apparently the track works and the control infrastructre are taking more time than planned. Planned start date for the new system is now Autumn 2018.

Edit. I now have more information about bikes on this new part of the Rotterdam metro system. No bikes on week days during rush hour (i.e. not before 9 am and from 4 pm until 6.30 pm and on days with special events). Bikes on the metro go for free (unlike on the trains). I have no idea if there is a deal with Stena about their current cheap train and boat tickets from London and a few other English cities and any train station in the Netherlands.

[mjr]

[...]
Apparently the track works and the control infrastructre are taking more time than planned. Planned start date for the new system is now Autumn 2018.

Edit. I now have more information about bikes on this new part of the Rotterdam metro system. No bikes on week days during rush hour (i.e. not before 9 am and from 4 pm until 6.30 pm and on days with special events). Bikes on the metro go for free (unlike on the trains). I have no idea if there is a deal with Stena about their current cheap train and boat tickets from London and a few other English cities and any train station in the Netherlands.

https://www.seat61.com/Netherlands.htm#train+ferry says the start date for the new system is now "early 2019". An hour between 8am ferry official arrival and the 9am bikes-allowed wouldn't be awful because it allows you to get breakfast at the excellent cafe next to the tourist information centre in town.

I'm looking at this tour as one of many options for 2019. I think something has been rescheduled because it now looks like the connections to/from Maastricht and Aachen via The Hague or Delft (12 miles instead of the 18 to Rotterdam or 15+metro) and Eindhoven look better. The connection to/from Troisvierges via Liege still looks long, slow and infrequent, so a circular tour from/to Aachen looks safest.

[Slowroad]

Or one can cycle to Maasluis and catch the train there.

[mjr]

Or one can cycle to Maasluis and catch the train there.

No trains there any more - being converted to metro, same as the Hook, not opened yet.

[Slowroad]

Slowroad wrote:
Or one can cycle to Maasluis and catch the train there.


No trains there any more - being converted to metro, same as the Hook, not opened yet.

Thanks! Yes - I meant the Metro!

[Norfolk Kiwi]

Don’t miss Monschau. Stunning town beside the river.

[mjr]

The connection to/from Troisvierges via Liege still looks long, slow and infrequent, so a circular tour from/to Aachen looks safest.

I've been getting information out of another forum and CFL and it looks like the trains Troisvierges to Liege have been adapted to have a 6-space bicycle area, indicated by a symbol on the window. So it's OK for a single or maybe family, especially if you allow for one train to be full, but for larger groups, or if your trip coincides with engineering works on the Troisvierges line, you'll probably want to loop back to Aachen, ride on to Luxembourg, ride 35ish miles along the RAVeL Line 163 cycleway through Bastogne to Libramont so you can use SNCB/NMBS trains instead, or hire one of the bike shuttles shown on the Vennbahn site.