Cycling UK Forum

Draft letter from one local cycling campaign should be at http://mjr.towers.org.uk/proj/cyclynn/gastrategy - feedback welcome. It's probably too negative at the moment.

Let's not get over-excited about this, they haven't actually announced any additional restrictions on the carriage of bicycles on trains.

My experience of travelling on Greater Anglia trains on the once-in-a-while that I have used them is that the demand for cycle carriage is quite high on their routes, and I've experienced a bit of a squeeze fitting several bikes on one occasion. If they can manage some of that demand with better cycle parking and hire schemes, then that is actually good for all of us.

But it is worth reminding them that hire bikes and folding bikes aren't suitable for all journeys, and that if bicycles are kept at remote locations (like I keep a bicycle in central London) it does need to be taken home once in a while for maintenance.

No, no new restrictions this time, but that there will be more in future is clearly spelt out: "Our objective for the medium to long term is therefore to reduce the carriage of cycles on trains"

They also seem to be throwing in the towel on making more space for bikes on off-peak trains and on making bike parking secure - it's completely backwards to be moving cycle parking from platforms out onto forecourts where there are fewer people standing about, fewer cameras and it's handy for waiting vans to take bikes away.

Some of it's good, but even that is couched among attacks on the "minority" and their "impact".

I agree with the point about hire and folders not being suitable for everything and had included it already, but I'd not thought about taking second bikes home for maintenance! Thanks!

mjr wrote:Draft letter from one local cycling campaign should be at http://mjr.towers.org.uk/proj/cyclynn/gastrategy - feedback welcome. It's probably too negative at the moment.

mjr, this is a great letter - very comprehensive and shows you are well informed on the subject. I don't think it's too negative. Spose you could praise them up a bit more for what they do right atm... eg let bikes on trains without pre-booking/ let bikes block (non-platform) doorways. Some minor proofing required, that's all.

I'm in the GA area... only an occasional user but I should write too! Is there a deadline for comment?

Please do write to them. The deadline is on the last page of the consultation PDF and is something like 4th November.

I've changed my response a few times (datestamp or timestamp at the bottom) and it's probably not as nasty as when I criticised it above.

mjr wrote:They also seem to be throwing in the towel on making more space for bikes on off-peak trains and on making bike parking secure - it's completely backwards to be moving cycle parking from platforms out onto forecourts where there are fewer people standing about, fewer cameras and it's handy for waiting vans to take bikes away.

These things depend on the local situation, and neither we nor they should generalise. Where I now live, it is much more dangerous to park your bicycle in the platform bikeshed: there have been a huge number of incidents of theft and vandalism with the on-platform bike-shed, but hardly any with parking your bike in the street outside, which is now where most of the local cyclists park if they have any sense. They actually installed a camera pointing directly at the on-platform bike-shed, but even when they filmed people nicking the bikes it was no help and they did nothing about it. The scallies who travel in on the train to do their evil work to the bikes realise this, and are not deterred by cameras. The problem is that the bikeshed is semi-enclosed, so you can do your stealing with only the camera looking at you, and then put the bike straight onto the train to take it away. If the bike parking area had been in open view of everyone standing on the platform, as is the case at Marylebond, it would hvae been great and would not have needed a special CCTV.

But when I was considering living somewhere that would involve a commute from Slough, and when I saw the off-station bike shed (as existed 15 years ago, don't know if it is still the same), no way would I want to put my bike there, and that was a majorly off-putting in thinking about living there.

iviehoff wrote:These things depend on the local situation, and neither we nor they should generalise. Where I now live, it is much more dangerous to park your bicycle in the platform bikeshed: there have been a huge number of incidents of theft and vandalism with the on-platform bike-shed, but hardly any with parking your bike in the street outside...

So as not to generalise: where's that, then? Is it a staffed station? With ticket barriers? Is the on-platform parking in a literal bike shed and not just under the platform canopy?

As I understand it, King's Lynn (run by First) on-platform parking is OK but not great because it's outside the barriers, the CCTV is patchy and the exit from that platform is locked sometimes, whereas the parking outside the station is not immediately visible from the exit, by a road and relatively high risk. Downham Market is by the platform entrance (so fairly high footfall) but not good after dark, Watlington is a pretty awful bikeshed in the car park but it's a quiet village. Our nearest Greater Anglia station is Ely and I've been told the on-an-active-platform inside-the-barriers cycle parking is the safest at that station, which is why I'm suggesting it's a better model to copy.

It's Chorleywood, which is a staffed station (at all times, though they only have brief ticket-selling hours) with a passenger gates which control access to the S-bound platform only. The Official but Dangerous bike shed is a brick built structure on the S-bound platform, with its own roof and 3 entire brick walls, at one end of the platform and not under the general platform canopy. There is a similar structure of almost identical description in terms of its location and access at Chalfont and Latimer. It used to be a bit like that at Amersham, except that the shed only had a roof and no walls - but they refenced it so it is accessed externally rather than from the platform. Chesham has two bike sheds, one on the platform with a door, and one outside in the street.

And by utter chance a copy of this publication "Going Dutch" by Abellio about their promotion of bike/train integration fell into my hands a few minutes ago, copublished with the magazine Passenger Transport. It is on-line here. http://www.passengertransport.co.uk/201 ... ellio-way/

Abellio is the company owned by the Dutch mainline railway operator NS, which operates, in some cases in JV with Serco, Merseyrail, Northern, and Greater Anglia. Most of what one finds in that brochure the general cyclist would applaud. Just one thing made me twitch. Apparently Abellio are going into the business of operating station cycle hires, which is brilliant apart from the observation that it might give them n a commercial incentive to discourage people from using their own bicycle.

See topic :

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=80723#p714274

Hi all,

I was concerned to read this in the GA consultation. There seems to be very short term thinking on the part of the the TOC, and there is a general lack of understanding of different journey types. I've written more about the general issue of bikes on trains here: http://www.isonomia.co.uk/?p=2324
Feel free to comment on the post - I'd be interested in your thoughts.

Hattie