Change of trains on Settle Carlisle railway affects cyclists

[atoz]

Dear all

Those of us who use the Settle Carlisle railway to get further into the

Dales and Lakes will be disappointed to learn that the rolling stock on

this route has been altered, to the detriment of cyclists. The class

156 DMU's used on this route until quite recently, although hardly

perfect for carrying cyclists, were one of the better designs in this

respect. Unfortunately, these units have been cascaded elsewhere, to be

replaced by an influx of Class 158 Express Sprinters. These are probably

one of the poorer designs for cycle space. The guard I talked to

admitted that these trains were bad on luggage space and accessibility

generally, as well as for cyclists.

There is a luggage space that could conceivably be altered so that both

luggage capacity and cycle storage on these trains could be improved.

It is near the exit to the coaches. When I pointed this out to the

guard, he actually said he would mention it to his manager. He said he

personally preferred the class 156 design for this and other reasons.


Use of cycle space is not just useful to those of us on a day trip to

the Dales. It's also useful for people who live in and visit the Eden

Valley, which has a well signposted cycle route running conveniently

close to S & C stations in the Eden Valley.


I would ask that everyone who uses this line, and has noticed the same

problem, to contact Northern Rail at

http://www.northernrail.org/contact/index.asp. It may also be worth

contacting the Friends of the Settle Carlisle line - email

info@settle-carlisle.co.uk; and also West Yorkshire Metro- feedback

form at http://www.wymetro.com/applications/webqde/webqde.aspx


Also, if like me, you want to help lobby for increased investment in

tracks and trains, it's a good idea to visit

http://www.sardineman.org.uk/

PS if you don't know which train is which- this link on Wikipedia gives details of the trains now running on the S & C - the class 158's - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_158

The ones Northern Rail used to use - the Class 156 - details at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_156

Thanks

[atoz]

It would appear that my concerns have already been discussed by others between Friends of the Settle Carlisle line and Northern Rail- apparently "the partition of the 'cupboard' where cycles are stored will be removed to make access easier, and they are willing to consider other suggestions".

Sounds like people are willing to respond to reasonable suggestions. So if you have any, probably would be a good thing to send an email or two.

Thanks