Bikes on trains in the UK

Trying to book a trip to the lakes in 2 weeks for an almost impromptu C2C.
Not a single bike reservation on any trains over the whole weekend through the aventi website. Any suggestions? Is there a booking issue or can every slot have been filled?

2 bikes per train ridiculously. Try ringing if you fancy half an hour of frustration

Tried. "Our call centre is closed due to covid"

Might dismantle and rinko

My CTC mag arrived this week and had a piece about travel by train; it suggested that Twitter(!) is a surprisingly good way of booking cycle reservations. Otherwise any station ticket office has access to all cycle bookings, so they'll be able to advise.

Yeah, I've seen a few of my followers asking on Twitter for bike bookings.

I cycled down Tonight and was told to try the internet as they can't even make cross rail company bookings at the moment.

What a shower.

Also I don't use Twitter.

Had exactly the same issue, bought the ticket from Oxenholme, but no seeat or bike reservation possible, call centre closed etc.

Sent them an email via the website contact form, they sent an automatic template email back, which needs replying to again in to progress the query. First response said something about reservations not opening til just before the journey, covid etc. etc. They have since followed wih a second email and confirmed both a seat and bike reservation

Excellent. Will have a go and see how I get on with that.

Don't really want to buy the ticket if I can't get a my bike on though.

Front wheel off and plead if necessary.

What, any tickets, or just bike reservations? As you say, what a shower.

The station said no tickets whatsoever.

I once took a bike on the central line in peak hours which was fun. Couple of binbags to wrap it up and completely got away with it. Didn't even twist the bars. Just claimed it was a parcel.

Think the most I've done on Central was a frameset. Not wrapped at all. Had to wait for maybe 3 trains to get a carriage that had enough room to get on.

Update:

Reservations for 22nd August not open until 12th August. Basically they are only opening reservations 10 days before the journey.

Sigh what a system.

The couple of times I've traveled on that West coast with Avanti I've found the booking process much worse than virgin used to be.

Anyone have any recent train experiences with bikes? Am looking at a Wales trip in late sept and wondering how easy it will be to get to Chester and Bristol to start and return with a bike...

Took my bike on the tube in the past, circle line or similar. Would get inquisitive stares. It's possible on a few lines I think. (?)

Chester will be an Avanti Voyager (if it's a direct train). Reasonably large hanging rack at the front of the train.

Bristol will be a GWR IEP. Horrible hanging rack in a too small cupboard somewhere hidden in the middle of the train and likely full of luggage unless you're first on board.

I think bikes are still be carried the same as ever post Covid.

If you don’t mind taking the slow route then you can get back from Bristol to Waterloo using South Western Railway. You’ll have to change at Salisbury, but SWR trains are more bike friendly and between Bristol and Salisbury it will be a local GWR train with likely fewer restrictions on bikes

GWR fast trains have shit bike spaces since the crappy train redesign a few years ago
to fight this put your bike in the disabled spaces (obviously move out of the way if someone with a disability needs the space)
there are 2x in coach A, quiet coach, you could get at least 3 bikes in each

I took the MCL tandem on the tube when I took it to my ex’s, from Victoria to N Greenwich then bus past Woolwich. Made a custom bag like an oversized keyboard bag, and semi-dismantled inside. Would not repeat that ever ever again. Tube was hell.

Thanks all - loads of useful info here

A major annoyance for me with the stupid redesign was that they dont put ANY singage on the outside of the train to show where bikes go!

That and stopping you bringing surfboards on trains means we doubled down on the car.
Shittest train company, though the sleepr is supposed to be OK.

Bit of a tangent, but I downloaded the bikes on tube map yesterday. Victoria to Woolwich looks possible between 9.30 and 4pm for an unpackaged bike? Not sure if tandem would have separate rule, but it would be funny to roll a tandem on the tube. Makes me want to do a youtube series traveling the tube with the most impractical bike. I bet it has already been done.

1 Attachment

• cycles-on-public-transport.pdf