Anyone used Virgin CrossCountry recently?

[cjchambers]

I'm going down to the South West to view houses this week and planning to take my bike on the train. Although I've never taken a bike on CrossCountry services before, I've always got the impression they were quite good for that. However, according to http://www.atob.org.uk/Bike_Rail.html it has suddenly got a lot harder.

I quote:

Virgin used to allow up to four bikes in the Voyager trains, but under CrossCountry the trains are being altered by having the shop in Coach D removed and replaced by a smaller cycle storage area, while the old cycle area becomes a secure cupboard for the onboard trolley. Although there is actually room for three bikes in the new bike zone, CrossCountry will only take reservations for up to TWO BIKES . .// . . Latest news is of cyclists being aggressively expelled from trains, even where they have reservations, so do beware.

Has anyone used them recently? Are they really that bad?

[Jack]

I travelled from Leeds to Penzance on Cross Country for the start of my LEJOG in June. I booked in advance (£31 1st class; the complementary snacks and drinks more than made up the difference).

I had checked out the train a couple of weeks before when I was in Leeds Station. Glad I did as knowing which end the bikes are stored was helpful with only a few minutes to load. The bike store is the opposite end to 1st class (1st class was at the back when I travelled) and they anounce which end that is.

There were 2 cubicles: one labelled for 1 bike, the other for 2. I put mine in the latter. It would have been difficult to get a 2nd one in with mine. The hook for hanging the front wheel meant my bike would be several inches off the floor. I therefore used a luggage strap between hook and wheel so bach wheel rested on floor. I left panniers in cubicle.

Despite being apprehensive everything worked out fine. I didn't check bike during journey (would have been nigh impossible for most of the journey because 2nd class was very crowded).

I'd use it again.

[jevans]

Travelled Doncaster to Reading with a bike, locked it onto the train because some people seemed a bit interested in it but otherwise no problems with it!

[cjchambers]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

I haven't had quite so much luck, probably because I didn't book far enough in advance - the lady in the ticket office couldn't find me a single train on Monday morning which had bike spaces all the way from Durham to Bristol. The only way to do it would be to train hop all the way down there, ie. getting off at certain points and waiting for a later train on the same route. The staff in the office confirmed they've had a lot more problems since CrossCountry started reducing their bike capacity. Booking weeks and weeks in advance seems like the only defence against this nonsense!

I've had to admit defeat and accept a lift down from my Dad. I hate having to give in to car dependence, but there we go. The message coming from Virgin loud and clear - "If you have a bike, take the car!". Bring back the Guard's van, that's what I say!

[CraigW]

I've had to admit defeat and accept a lift down from my Dad. I hate having to give in to car dependence, but there we go. The message coming from Virgin loud and clear - "If you have a bike, take the car!". Bring back the Guard's van, that's what I say!

CrossCountry is now run by Arriva, and has nothing to do with Virgin.

[jevans]

The Durham to London and the London to Bristol trains are both the HST type with guards vans, if you are ok crossing from Kings Cross to Paddington you could have gone that way, probably about same time journey too

[cjchambers]

CrossCountry is now run by Arriva, and has nothing to do with Virgin.

I stand corrected! And, as a regular user of Arriva buses, the decline in service suddenly starts to make sense to me . . . .

if you are ok crossing from Kings Cross to Paddington you could have gone that way, probably about same time journey too

That sounds like a very good plan. I'll still need to get back sometime, so will probably investigate that route rather than the CrossCountry - thanks

[gbnz]

Though Cross Country required bike reservations last year, to date this year bike reservations haven't been required. It's merely a case of cycling to the station and putting your bike on the train

My train/bike travels have been limited this year (Merely via Aberdeen/Mallaig/Folkstone/Plymouth) and I haven't used Cross Country since mid June, so perhaps things have changed. That said, I've always found the best approach, once the pleasant conversation/discussion/negotiation phase has passed, is simply to ignore whatever I've been told about "YOU CANT'T TAKE THAT BIKE ON THE TRAIN" and proceed with equanimity

[Big T]

We used Cross Country to return from Penzance to Derby. We booked about 8 weeks in advance, but ours were the only bikes on the train, which has capacity for 4 bikes. I got the impression that they only have 2 reservable spaces per train, leaving the other 2 for people who commute with a bike or just turn up on the day. They are the type where you hang the bike up. I was concerned about the bikes banging together during the journey, so I strapped them together at the handlebars using toe straps, so they effectively moved as one and didn't bang into each other.

We booked online using the national express east coast website and reserved the bike spaces at the same time as booking. It's worth using this website just to see if reserving your bike space is possible for the journey you want to make.

PS we paid £75 each for first class travel, but the train was half an hour late into Derby, due to 2 sets of faulty signals, so we got a £75 refund.

[bikepacker]

Since Arriva took over Cross Country the service has been far better for taking bikes. A lot has been said about the new carriage D conversions. As has been stated. there are places for 4 bikes per train, 2 reserved and 2 unreserved. This is a big improvement from when Virgin ran the service. I think having 2 reseved spaces is good as it gives you peace of mind for the journey where you have to get a bike on the train.

Regarding the HST, Cross Country only have 4 complete units of which only 3 are operational. 1 is a reserve unit. If you are lucky enough to get one of these on your route they have a much larger bike capacity.

[cjchambers]

As has been stated. there are places for 4 bikes per train, 2 reserved and 2 unreserved. This is a big improvement from when Virgin ran the service. I think having 2 reseved spaces is good as it gives you peace of mind for the journey where you have to get a bike on the train.

It's clearly down to a mixture of circumstances and personal preference, then. For me, it was no use, as I needed to be in a particular place at a particular time, with my bike. If I'd just turned up hoping to get an unreserved space, I could be left high and dry! I'd rather have them *all* reserved. Even if it just means paying a visit to the ticket office before the train arrives (although a pain with a loaded bike, I know)

Of course, the solution to all of these problems is clearly just more capacity! And while they're at it, they can put in some more luggage areas too, so I don't have to climb over everyone's suitcases to get to the toilet

[Dean]

My last couple of experiences of catching Cross Country trains between Darlington and Leeds have been very positive - in neither instance did I have a bike reservation, but as there were no other bikes on the trains, that phrase was never uttered, and on the Edinburgh-Penzance train on a Saturday morning, I had the whole guard's van to myself. There was nowhere to hang or stand my bike, so "just leave it on the floor:, suggested the conductor. Marvellous

I might give up on bike reservations, to be honest, since people seem to book their bikes onto trains, terrified of missing out, then they never use the reservations, which blocks the trains for the rest of us. Just wandering up and putting your bike on the train usually makes sense, if you're only going a few stops.

[DaveP]

On Friday week we will be returning to the Midlands from Newcastle, courtesy of CrossCountry Trains. We have reservations for the bikes and for our seats. I have mixed feelings about the latter - I would have preferred to lurk in the vicinity of the bike spaces, but no doubt we shall be at the other end of the train.
On the other hand, when we came back from Wales via Arriva I was very impressed by the guard who after one disgruntled grunt, on realising that indeed we had reservations on what had become an unofficial Rugby Special, shifted about 5 people and untold cases of lager from the bike space.
I'll let you know how it works out this time...

[Mr.Benton]

I went from Leeds to Cheltenham on Cross Country trains at the end of June. There were 3 bike spaces on the train, I reserved my bike space in advance but there wasn't any other bikes on the train. The only problem I had was I locked the bike to the train rack and then misplaced my lock key which caused me a bit of a panic 5 minutes outside Cheltenham! I can't really blame the train company for me having too many pockets in my coat and forgetting which one I used to store the key.

One thing I found with the train was if you wanted the cheapest tickets it is better to search for tickets for each leg of the journey. I searched for tickets from Selby to Cheltenham and the price was £70. But a ticket Selby to Leeds was £7 and a ticket Leeds to Cheltenham was £30 so a saving of over £30.

Neil