Bikes on trains - advice needed

[TheBoyBilly]

Some train drivers are cyclists too

And I am one of those. Unfortunately we (Gatwick Express) are losing the Class 460s and with them all that room for bikes in the luggage van. The older 442s (ex-SW Trains) are nowhere near as good for cycle carriage.
I think most train operating companies do not understand that you may need more than 6 cycle spaces on a packed 12-car commuter train which is why you see loads of bikes at both home stations and London termini. Just a little bit of thought could make things so much better.
Countries like Germany and Holland seem to be able to manage it very well.

Bill

 

[bridgy]

Well it worked well in the end - there were 2 spaces for bikes as described by Norm, and the train staff were very helpful & friendly. However I don't think the "bike reservations" we had made any difference actually - and this was pretty much confirmed by the member of staff we spoke to! We were fortunate that we were getting the train from it's starting point so there was more chance we could take the cycle slots before anyone else - if we had reservations from further up the line and the cycle spaces were already taken I don't know what would have happened - I suspect it would have just been "tough"!

So top marks to the train company for how it actually worked, but I'd still be wary of relying on definitely getting those bike spaces next time, with or without a reservation...