It looks like NXEC may have banned tandems on the East Coast main line. I recently returned Newcastle-York and experienced real hostility from a Customer Services person at Newcastle - triumphantly telling me that tandems were now banned. Checking the website FAQ small print appears to confirm this.
If this is definitely the case, this will be a sad and important reduction in facilities for taking tandems on the UK train network. NXEC is a great link to many areas of the UK and also to the continent via the easy ride from Newcastle to the DFDS ferry (Newcastle-Ijmuiden) port at North Shields. It will also be sad because the East coast main line has long been quite a good line for cyclists and has an excellent online booking option for cycle reservations.
I eventually got on thanks to a helpful (and somewhat bemused) train crew but it was a close call. This change appears to have been quietly rolled out.
I have posted on the Tandem Club forum also.
Paul
York, UK
Possible new tandem ban on NXEC on East Coast Main Line
Re: Possible new tandem ban on NXEC on East Coast Main Line
pauld wrote:experienced real hostility from a Customer Services person at Newcastle -
What is it with some rail staff? I too have encountered rail personnel who have gone beyond the call of duty to be as unpleasant as possible to cyclists ("cyclophobia?"). I suppose anything out of the ordinary (ordinary being an able bodied foot passenger carrying minimal luggage) causes extra hassle for them. Are there any rail staff on this forum who can explain this attitude?
(Disclaimer: I'm not implying that all rail staff are like this, many of them are very nice people
)-
dave holladay
- Posts: 284
- Joined: 4 Apr 2007, 12:25pm
Re: Possible new tandem ban on NXEC on East Coast Main Line
Please write/email to National Express, and in your own words describe the poor customer service and unwelcome and arbitary apparent change in policy - this means that the NXEC web page information completely contradicts the published Cycling By Train leaflets valid (generally) from December 2008-December 2009, and is also at odds with the web page for the National Rail website.
This 'change' came just over a week after NXEC responded to CTC and Tandem Club confirming that tandems were still to be carried and no change was planned. This is completely outrageous and totally out of line with the normal practice of making any changes at the same time as the timetable change - or in this instance in December whan the leaflet is re-issued. There is no change to the type of trains used nor the protocol for boarding any type of bike.
If you are not satisfied with the response you get from NXEC you can than take the matter up with Passenger Focus. Log this with the Simpsons (trains@tandem-club.org.uk, and Chris Peck/me so we get an idea of the level of concern)
We do see patterns of this cyclophobic behaviour and Newcastle Central is a current hot-spot - York were at last report fine but Doncaster have a bad attitude on bikes in general. Newcastle is also very brusque in their train despatching and managed to close the doors and send the train off with a party half on and half-off the train - resulting in the emergency handle being pulled and all their haste to send the train away spent in the delay created. I've also experienced some appalling ride quality due to excessive speed - so much so that we were arriving at every stop early (6 minutes early at Edinburgh after leaving Berwick on time).
Check out the thread on reporting the number of bikes per train and note (3-4) the reports that is also running on this forum - and note that TPE seem to be happy about carrying tandems with the '2 reservations' condition
This 'change' came just over a week after NXEC responded to CTC and Tandem Club confirming that tandems were still to be carried and no change was planned. This is completely outrageous and totally out of line with the normal practice of making any changes at the same time as the timetable change - or in this instance in December whan the leaflet is re-issued. There is no change to the type of trains used nor the protocol for boarding any type of bike.
If you are not satisfied with the response you get from NXEC you can than take the matter up with Passenger Focus. Log this with the Simpsons (trains@tandem-club.org.uk, and Chris Peck/me so we get an idea of the level of concern)
We do see patterns of this cyclophobic behaviour and Newcastle Central is a current hot-spot - York were at last report fine but Doncaster have a bad attitude on bikes in general. Newcastle is also very brusque in their train despatching and managed to close the doors and send the train off with a party half on and half-off the train - resulting in the emergency handle being pulled and all their haste to send the train away spent in the delay created. I've also experienced some appalling ride quality due to excessive speed - so much so that we were arriving at every stop early (6 minutes early at Edinburgh after leaving Berwick on time).
Check out the thread on reporting the number of bikes per train and note (3-4) the reports that is also running on this forum - and note that TPE seem to be happy about carrying tandems with the '2 reservations' condition
Re: Possible new tandem ban on NXEC on East Coast Main Line
I also experienced outright hostility from a NE East Coast guard in June. Despite having a cycle reservation I had to leave my best bike propped up in a corridor from Montrose to London, totally unprotected from people taking stuff on/off the guards van. When I brought this up with the guard he was immediately hostile and suggested I get off the train.
I wrote to complain about my treatment and, although reading between the lines deduced the guard had deliberately lied about the cycle reservation policy, it was the usual standard letter. They have also reduced the cycle racks to hold only 3 bikes, even on the largest inter-city trains with several hundred passengers - this is totally inadequate.
I can see a trend developing with National Express. Good riddance to them and I hope that whoever takes over does a better job.
I wrote to complain about my treatment and, although reading between the lines deduced the guard had deliberately lied about the cycle reservation policy, it was the usual standard letter. They have also reduced the cycle racks to hold only 3 bikes, even on the largest inter-city trains with several hundred passengers - this is totally inadequate.
I can see a trend developing with National Express. Good riddance to them and I hope that whoever takes over does a better job.