When will Eurostar recommence carrying bikes?

[mjr]

Yes: that's right -- Paris to Calais Ville (and v.v.) on the K16 route is fine with an unboxed, unbooked bicycle.

Do you know that for certain? Deutsche Bahn's usually reliable website claims no bike-usable services between Calais and Boulogne (though the same train will take your bike between Boulogne and Amiens!), and some of those trains are buses. I found that it worked fine in 2019, but more recent on-the-ground confirmation would be helpful. I'll be there in a couple of weeks, and may give it a try. The alternative, of course, is a nice 40km ride from Calais to Boulogne or v/v, but that could upset the timetable if not planned for.

This tweet from earlier this week looks pretty official and definite that bikes are allowed on all northeastern France TERs except K+ lines and certain journeys on K43 and K52 https://mobile.twitter.com/TERHDF/statu ... 5957664770

[pal]

Yes: that's right -- Paris to Calais Ville (and v.v.) on the K16 route is fine with an unboxed, unbooked bicycle.

Do you know that for certain? Deutsche Bahn's usually reliable website claims no bike-usable services between Calais and Boulogne (though the same train will take your bike between Boulogne and Amiens!), and some of those trains are buses. I found that it worked fine in 2019, but more recent on-the-ground confirmation would be helpful. I'll be there in a couple of weeks, and may give it a try. The alternative, of course, is a nice 40km ride from Calais to Boulogne or v/v, but that could upset the timetable if not planned for.

I travelled with a bike (unboxed, unbooked) on that route, in both directions, in May 2022. (Though there have been some engineering works round there, so watching out for replacement buses would definitely be a good idea).

[bohrsatom]

Here is my bike (and many others!) on the K16 between Calais and Paris Nord last month. There was loads of bike storage - maybe space for 15 bikes across the whole train.



If travelling with a loaded touring bike, the hardest part is that Calais Ville station doesn't have direct lift access to every platform. Instead there's one lift at either end and you're supposed to find a member of staff to open some gates which will then let you cross the tracks to the middle platforms. I failed at this and ended up carrying my bike and bags down the steps in two journeys.

[nirakaro]

Thanks pal, that's very encouraging.

[nirakaro]

you're supposed to find a member of staff to open some gates which will then let you cross the tracks to the middle platforms. I failed at this and ended up carrying my bike and bags down the steps in two journeys.

Yes, i remember that well!

[st599_uk]

Thought I'd look at Eurostar's website and see if they did reinstate bike services in May...

Sorry, we’re no longer able to relaunch our bike service this summer. This is due to security and customs issues which are out of our control. Our teams are still working toward a relaunch and hope to have better news in September.

In other words: The airlines are in such a mess this summer that we have quite enough passengers already without you! Maybe we'll look at this again once the summer holidays are over. Maybe.

St Pancras has problems with Customs - it hasn't got any area for it as it wasn't needed when built.

Speaking to them about taking work equipment, you have to meet the customs officer on the train for rummage and Carnet stamping - you have to have the goods with you, not in the guards van.

[MrsHJ]

Has the Channel tunnel service resumed for carrying bikes? I can’t remember.

[Slowroad]

It looks like it:
https://www.eurotunnel.com/uk/travellin ... /bicycles/
But it might be good to contact them well in advance.

[Galactic]

Deutsche Bahn's usually reliable website claims no bike-usable services

Bit late to the party, but wanted to share that DB's (often excellent) website is unreliable when it comes to information about whether bikes can be taken on non-DB trains.

I take their information on bike carriage on their own trains as gospel (including their own trains running across borders, eg IC Berlin-Amsterdam), am inclined to believe them when it comes to non-DB trains within Germany but do my own research for non-DB trains outside Germany. Take for example the Belgian ICs: according to DB, it's a no go for unboxed bikes, yet reality is you can take 2 bikes in first and last vestibule.

This is particularly important if you're using the DB website to plan a trip - eg if you want to take a bike from Aachen to a random place in Belgium, DB will say no can do. Yet the canny train-cyclist will know about the Belgian ICs and get the hourly railbus over the border from Aachen to Welkenraedt, then hop on the Eupen-Oostende IC (which conveniently goes through Brussels and on to the channel port for a ferry to Blighty).

[mjr]

Take for example the Belgian ICs: according to DB, it's a no go for unboxed bikes, yet reality is you can take 2 bikes in first and last vestibule.

Far more than that now many Belgian ICs have a multifunction carriage of flip up seats!

No ferries from Ostend any more. Change at Gent for De Panne services and ride the 20 miles mostly on cycleways to Dunkirk port.

[Will]

Take for example the Belgian ICs: according to DB, it's a no go for unboxed bikes, yet reality is you can take 2 bikes in first and last vestibule.

Far more than that now many Belgian ICs have a multifunction carriage of flip up seats!

No ferries from Ostend any more. Change at Gent for De Panne services and ride the 20 miles mostly on cycleways to Dunkirk port.

It is not so much "no go", more like "don't know". You cannot reserve a bike space on Belgian IC trains, and you cannot purchase a Belgian bike ticket on the DB website, so DB do not include information on bike provision on Belgian trains.

You cannot buy an international bike ticket on the DB website, so you cannot book your bike on the Amsterdam-Berlin service online (except within Germany). If you try to book this on the DB website then it will look like there is no bike provision.

SNCB have quite a good site for checking bike provision on Belgian trains: https://bikeontrain.belgiantrain.be/en? ... _highlight

Most (if not all) Belgian Inter City trains have good provision for bikes. This is the multifunction carriage that mjr refers to (actually on the De Panne-Gent service):



The multifunction carriages are of the M6 double decker type. Some services use a combination of single decker (I11) carriages with one or two M6 carriages (one of which will be multifunction) - this is what has been used on the Ostend-Eupen service.

SNCB have placed orders for new M7 carriages that are an updated version of the very popular M6. The M7 carriages started to be rolled out about a year ago, and they will be used on the Ostend-Eupen service. SNCB also have TRAXX 3 multisystem locomotives on order that can be used in the Netherlands and Germany. Rumour has it that the TRAXX 3 MS locos will be used to allow the Ostend-Eupen service to be re-routed as far as Cologne.

Will

[Galactic]

It is not so much "no go", more like "don't know". You cannot reserve a bike space on Belgian IC trains, and you cannot purchase a Belgian bike ticket on the DB website, so DB do not include information on bike provision on Belgian trains.

In this case "Don't know" certainly equals "No go", since if it doesn't show a connection you won't find out about it. I also have to disagree with the reason you give for this behaviour (having also just double checked that nothing has changed on the DB website). It shows the connections from Berlin to Amsterdam if you click on the option to take a bicycle, even though you can't book the cycle place online.

On the other hand, if you try for Aachen to Brussels (with bike), it'll show you a 6hr connection with several changes (via Nijmegen in NL) even though it knows of the 2hr connection via Walkenraedt (which shows up if you unclick the cycle option, even though cycles are carried on this connection).

As implied above, it also shows connections on Dutch ICs, even though, just as in Belgium, cycle places are unbookable and the cycling ticket for the journey is unavailable on the DB site. The lack of purchasability hasn't prevented the presentation of the information about connections for the NL, yet something has for BE.

Clearly the technical reason is that the data regarding bikes on Belgian IC trains has, for whatever reason, not been entered into HAFAS (or whatever it's called nowadays), but the end result is that the DB website can't be used as a solid source for taking bikes on non-DB trains, particularly outside of Germany, and travelers with bikes would do well to, as you suggest, use the railways website of whatever country/company you want to travel through/with.

PS As yet another tangential aside, the Man in Seat 61 has also started including information about bike carriage to and between European destinations - haven't checked for a while so don't know how up to date or comprehensive his information is: https://www.seat61.com/bike-by-train.htm

PPS I like the picture - nice cycle places for an IC, Britain and Germany (et al) should learn from that!

[Magical_Stickman]

Any update on this trip out of interest? We plan to go this weekend but feel we’re risking it without confirmation of the K16 route.

[Magical_Stickman]

Yes: that's right -- Paris to Calais Ville (and v.v.) on the K16 route is fine with an unboxed, unbooked bicycle.

Do you know that for certain? Deutsche Bahn's usually reliable website claims no bike-usable services between Calais and Boulogne (though the same train will take your bike between Boulogne and Amiens!), and some of those trains are buses. I found that it worked fine in 2019, but more recent on-the-ground confirmation would be helpful. I'll be there in a couple of weeks, and may give it a try. The alternative, of course, is a nice 40km ride from Calais to Boulogne or v/v, but that could upset the timetable if not planned for.

Any update on this trip? Did you manage to use K16?

[MrsHJ]

Yes: that's right -- Paris to Calais Ville (and v.v.) on the K16 route is fine with an unboxed, unbooked bicycle.

Do you know that for certain? Deutsche Bahn's usually reliable website claims no bike-usable services between Calais and Boulogne (though the same train will take your bike between Boulogne and Amiens!), and some of those trains are buses. I found that it worked fine in 2019, but more recent on-the-ground confirmation would be helpful. I'll be there in a couple of weeks, and may give it a try. The alternative, of course, is a nice 40km ride from Calais to Boulogne or v/v, but that could upset the timetable if not planned for.

Any update on this trip? Did you manage to use K16?

Yes, someone did (not me). Try putting K16 in the search bar. Calais is another possibility if you limit it to the touring threads.