Bike on LNER
- pedalsheep
- Posts: 1324
- Joined: 11 Aug 2009, 7:57pm
Re: Bike on LNER
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.
You can't win.
'Why cycling for joy is not the most popular pastime on earth is still a mystery to me.'
Frank J Urry, Salute to Cycling, 1956.
Frank J Urry, Salute to Cycling, 1956.
Re: Bike on LNER
No I didn'tMike Sales wrote: ↑28 Jul 2022, 6:55pm You mentioned platforms as a common place for passenger accidents,
But with unrestricted cycling there would likely be an increase.
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- Joined: 7 Mar 2009, 3:31pm
Re: Bike on LNER
Sorry, I misremembered. It was Pendodave,toontra wrote: ↑28 Jul 2022, 7:03pmNo I didn't.Mike Sales wrote: ↑28 Jul 2022, 6:55pm You mentioned platforms as a common place for passenger accidents,
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?
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
Re: Bike on LNER
Anyway: My concern about me being located in one car and my bike in another got lost in all the swearing , 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?
Re: Bike on LNER
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.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 , 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?
Have you tried swapping your seat reservation? Some operator's websites allow this up till the day of travel?
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- Posts: 7883
- Joined: 7 Mar 2009, 3:31pm
Re: Bike on LNER
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?
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
-
- Posts: 7883
- Joined: 7 Mar 2009, 3:31pm
Re: Bike on LNER
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.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?
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?
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
Re: Bike on LNER
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.
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.
Re: Bike on LNER
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
Re: Bike on LNER
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.toontra wrote: ↑28 Jul 2022, 8:01pmThat'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
Re: Bike on LNER
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?
Re: Bike on LNER
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 This was during the recent period of strikes and the cynic in me thinks this was PR for the union staff Certainly never had that kind of assistance before!
Re: Bike on LNER
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.Tiggertoo wrote: ↑28 Jul 2022, 8:39pmOkay, 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.toontra wrote: ↑28 Jul 2022, 8:01pmThat'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
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):
Will
Re: Bike on LNER
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.
Re: Bike on LNER
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.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 , 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?
A novice learning...
“the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.”
“the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.”