Bike on LNER

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
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pedalsheep
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Joined: 11 Aug 2009, 7:57pm

Re: Bike on LNER

Post by pedalsheep »

I once caught a train from Portsmouth to Liphook. As it moved off an announcement came over the tannoy that passengers for Liphook must travel in the front of the train. Bike and I were of course at the back. I spoke to the guard and was told to get off at Petersfield and move to the front of the train. So I walked the bike as fast as possible along the platform to the front of the train and was told off by the guard for not riding it!!
You can't win.
'Why cycling for joy is not the most popular pastime on earth is still a mystery to me.'
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toontra
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Joined: 21 Dec 2007, 11:01am
Location: London

Re: Bike on LNER

Post by toontra »

Mike Sales wrote: 28 Jul 2022, 6:55pm You mentioned platforms as a common place for passenger accidents,
No I didn't :wink:

But with unrestricted cycling there would likely be an increase.
Mike Sales
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Joined: 7 Mar 2009, 3:31pm

Re: Bike on LNER

Post by Mike Sales »

toontra wrote: 28 Jul 2022, 7:03pm
Mike Sales wrote: 28 Jul 2022, 6:55pm You mentioned platforms as a common place for passenger accidents,
No I didn't.
Sorry, I misremembered. It was Pendodave,
The 'train/platform' interface is the largest source of incidents on the railway. Trains are delayed, people are hurt and sometimes killed.

Does he, or do you, have any reports of accidents involving cycling? Or just your own belief that cyclists are dangerous and irresponsible?
It's the same the whole world over
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
Tiggertoo
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Joined: 2 Jun 2021, 4:52pm

Re: Bike on LNER

Post by Tiggertoo »

Anyway: My concern about me being located in one car and my bike in another got lost in all the swearing :roll: , so from those who frequently travel by train with your bike, is it quite usual to have the passenger and the bike in different parts of the train? And if so, what are the chances of the bike leaving before the passenger does?
toontra
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Joined: 21 Dec 2007, 11:01am
Location: London

Re: Bike on LNER

Post by toontra »

Tiggertoo wrote: 28 Jul 2022, 7:15pm Anyway: My concern about me being located in one car and my bike in another got lost in all the swearing :roll: , so from those who frequently travel by train with your bike, is it quite usual to have the passenger and the bike in different parts of the train? And if so, what are the chances of the bike leaving before the passenger does?
When booking on the LNER or GWR sites I usually book the seat, then the bike, then go back and swap the seat to the hearest to the bike. Complicated but it works. The system isn't clever enough to book your bike closest to your seat . Quite the opposite - if you go with what's allocated you often end up with reservations at opposite ends of the train.

Have you tried swapping your seat reservation? Some operator's websites allow this up till the day of travel?
Mike Sales
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Re: Bike on LNER

Post by Mike Sales »

Tiggertoo wrote: 28 Jul 2022, 7:15pm , so from those who frequently travel by train with your bike, is it quite usual to have the passenger and the bike in different parts of the train? And if so, what are the chances of the bike leaving before the passenger does?
I share your uneasiness. I do little travelling these days, but when I did I usually contrived, sometimes at some inconvenience, to stay close to my bike. When stops were infrequent I would walk down the train to my bike at station stops, if necessary, and resume my seat when we moved off.
It's the same the whole world over
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
Mike Sales
Posts: 7883
Joined: 7 Mar 2009, 3:31pm

Re: Bike on LNER

Post by Mike Sales »

toontra wrote: 28 Jul 2022, 7:21pm When booking on the LNER or GWR sites I usually book the seat, then the bike, then go back and swap the seat to the hearest to the bike. Complicated but it works. The system isn't clever enough to book your bike closest to your seat . Quite the opposite - if you go with what's allocated you often end up with reservations at opposite ends of the train.

Have you tried swapping your seat reservation? Some operator's websites allow this up till the day of travel?
I can't be doing with all this booking seat and bike, and working out the best time to buy, and whether to buy separate tickets for different bits of the journey, or take a different route. It used to be staightforward, you just bought a ticket for you destination. All this faff puts me off using the train.
It's the same the whole world over
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
Tiggertoo
Posts: 475
Joined: 2 Jun 2021, 4:52pm

Re: Bike on LNER

Post by Tiggertoo »

Good advice from Mike and toontra. :)

I suppose I could always just park the bike in the car I am in - assuming every car has a bike space - and wait for the: "Oy, You" from the petulant train conductor.

Trying to navigate the enigma of web sites of both companies to change seat and bike space around before I travel is more than I am prepared to suffer. :cry:
toontra
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Joined: 21 Dec 2007, 11:01am
Location: London

Re: Bike on LNER

Post by toontra »

Tiggertoo wrote: 28 Jul 2022, 7:44pm Good advice from Mike and toontra. :)

I suppose I could always just park the bike in the car I am in - assuming every car has a bike space - and wait for the: "Oy, You" from the petulant train conductor.
That's not an option. There are only 2 carriages with bike compartments - usually 2 carriages in from either end of the train. I think there are compartments on other carriages but these are kept locked, presumably for "emergency" use.

The doors adjacent to the bike compartments are now marked on the outside with a bike symbol. They weren't for the first few months of service and it was a complete lottery finding the right carriage :roll:
Tiggertoo
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Joined: 2 Jun 2021, 4:52pm

Re: Bike on LNER

Post by Tiggertoo »

toontra wrote: 28 Jul 2022, 8:01pm
Tiggertoo wrote: 28 Jul 2022, 7:44pm Good advice from Mike and toontra. :)

I suppose I could always just park the bike in the car I am in - assuming every car has a bike space - and wait for the: "Oy, You" from the petulant train conductor.
That's not an option. There are only 2 carriages with bike compartments - usually 2 carriages in from either end of the train. I think there are compartments on other carriages but these are kept locked, presumably for "emergency" use.

The doors adjacent to the bike compartments are now marked on the outside with a bike symbol. They weren't for the first few months of service and it was a complete lottery finding the right carriage :roll:
Okay, thanks for that. I was wondering if every compartment had bike spaces, now I know they don't. I guess that is why the web sites kept pushing me a my bike further apart. :?
Tiggertoo
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Joined: 2 Jun 2021, 4:52pm

Re: Bike on LNER

Post by Tiggertoo »

I've just had an extra thought on this; I suppose it is possible to lock the bike in place inside the bike space - maybe to a hanger?
toontra
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Joined: 21 Dec 2007, 11:01am
Location: London

Re: Bike on LNER

Post by toontra »

Tiggertoo wrote: 28 Jul 2022, 8:42pm I've just had an extra thought on this; I suppose it is possible to lock the bike in place inside the bike space - maybe to a hanger?
Most train operators don't allow bikes to be locked. I think LNER and GWR are two of those. I've certainly been reprimanded for locking bikes in the past (for exactly the reason you want to). They claim it's to do with having to move them quickly in an emergency. Can't see it myself but there you go.

Actually on my most recent LNER trip the guard was especially helpful. He helped me hang the bike and, because I was travelling from Aberdeen to London and my seat was several carriages away, he suggested I leave my heavy panniers with the bike and locked the bike compartment door and said it would only be unlocked by a guard if needed for another bike (and locked again afterwards). Great service :D This was during the recent period of strikes and the cynic in me thinks this was PR for the union staff :wink: Certainly never had that kind of assistance before!
Will
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Joined: 16 Jan 2007, 6:39pm

Re: Bike on LNER

Post by Will »

Tiggertoo wrote: 28 Jul 2022, 8:39pm
toontra wrote: 28 Jul 2022, 8:01pm
Tiggertoo wrote: 28 Jul 2022, 7:44pm Good advice from Mike and toontra. :)

I suppose I could always just park the bike in the car I am in - assuming every car has a bike space - and wait for the: "Oy, You" from the petulant train conductor.
That's not an option. There are only 2 carriages with bike compartments - usually 2 carriages in from either end of the train. I think there are compartments on other carriages but these are kept locked, presumably for "emergency" use.

The doors adjacent to the bike compartments are now marked on the outside with a bike symbol. They weren't for the first few months of service and it was a complete lottery finding the right carriage :roll:
Okay, thanks for that. I was wondering if every compartment had bike spaces, now I know they don't. I guess that is why the web sites kept pushing me a my bike further apart. :?
The LNER online booking system isn't smart enough to recognize that you also have a bike reservation and will just reserve your seat like any other passenger. It is quite easy to change the seat reservation during the booking process or edit it afterwards. The earlier you book your travel, the more likely that you will be able to reserve a seat next to your bike.

I will be travelling with by bike on the LNER service from Edinburgh to Newcastle in a couple of weeks. This is my seat and bike reservations (seat reservation edited during booking):

Image

Will
toontra
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Joined: 21 Dec 2007, 11:01am
Location: London

Re: Bike on LNER

Post by toontra »

Will wrote: 29 Jul 2022, 7:04amIt is quite easy to change the seat reservation during the booking process or edit it afterwards.
Indeed. As mentioned upthread that's the way I do it, and changing reservations should be easy and possible right up to the day of travel, although as Will says the sooner you do it the better the chance of finding a suitable seat.
st599_uk
Posts: 1092
Joined: 4 Nov 2018, 8:59pm

Re: Bike on LNER

Post by st599_uk »

Tiggertoo wrote: 28 Jul 2022, 7:15pm Anyway: My concern about me being located in one car and my bike in another got lost in all the swearing :roll: , so from those who frequently travel by train with your bike, is it quite usual to have the passenger and the bike in different parts of the train? And if so, what are the chances of the bike leaving before the passenger does?
When LNER had proper storage, you had first class between you and the bike storage, so you had to get out, run along the platform and bang on the guards van door.
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