Bikes on trains in Holland

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I'm off to Holland for a weekend's touring in November and eventually rocking up in Amsterdam for a meeting. Turning up to a business meeting in another country on a loaded tourer strikes me as very cool, but I will need to do some journeys by train, and I'll be flying back on KLM. I'm going there on the overnight ferry from Hull. Does anyone have any experience of taking your bike on a train in Holland? Is there anything I need to know? Also is there any accessible information about train times available online? If anyone's put their bike on KLM it would also be great to hear of your experiences. My plan is to use a CTC poly bike bag, deflate the tyres and take the pedals off and sling it on.
 

jurjan

Veteran
Location
Utrecht
well,
taking your bike on a train in the Netherlands is easy:
just buy a ticket (valid all day, no km. limit) for € 6.

however, there are a few things you have to watch out for:
it's not allowed during rushhour (between 06:30 - 09:00 and 16:30 - 18:00) on workdays.
place your bike on the carriage with the bike symbol on the side, officially withour panniers(, but we've never bothered).
if that bike places are full, you CAN be asked to take another train.
reservation is NOT possible.
officially no BOB's etc. we don't have one, I don't know how strict they are with that rule.

that's about it.

planning your trainride: 9292ov.nl


about the KLM, they will probably ask you to buy their bikebox AND use it.


enjoy!
 

rich p

ridiculous old lush
Location
Brighton
I'm assuming KLM will have a bike bag/size policy. It may preclude using a poly bag with the wheels on. It's worth checking first otherwise you could be in a spot of bother at the airport. Jurjen seems to suggest that they will provide/sell a suitable box but I'd rather to be sure before I turned up with limited time to sort anything else out.
 

Haitch

Flim Flormally
Location
Netherlands
KLM's website says you have to take a bike in "suitable packing" or a box. Boxes can be bought at the airport for €20.

Information on trains is also available from Dutch Rail's own website www.ns.nl, English option in top right-hand corner. Train tickets are cheaper from the machines than from the counter (about 10% cheaper I think). Some machines take cash, all machines take Maestro bankcards (but Im not sure about the acceptability of UK cards).
 

jurjan

Veteran
Location
Utrecht
Alan,
I think your link is better than mine, mine is for ALL public transport, and some types of taxi's.
Kirstie will only need the trains (no normal buses in the Netherlands take bikes as far as I know).
 

Haitch

Flim Flormally
Location
Netherlands
KLM's baggage policy is that a bike counts as one piece of luggage and is included in your standard allowance (can't see what the standard allowance is). You pay extra if the bike is heavier than 23kg (50lbs) or if you exceed the standard baggage allowance. The box iteself weighs 3.5kg. Bikes have to be reserved at least 48 hours in advance and the booking has to be confirmed before the flight.
 

Haitch

Flim Flormally
Location
Netherlands
mine is for ALL public transport

And a very good link it is too, especially if you want to know times and routes for a journey involving more than one mode of public transport.
 
U

User169

Guest
Information on trains is also available from Dutch Rail's own website www.ns.nl, English option in top right-hand corner. Train tickets are cheaper from the machines than from the counter (about 10% cheaper I think). Some machines take cash, all machines take Maestro bankcards (but Im not sure about the acceptability of UK cards).

The ticket machines are a pile of poo. I can rarely find one prepared to accept Dutch a card, let alone a UK one.
 

Haitch

Flim Flormally
Location
Netherlands
a pile of poo.


Just rub the card up and down your trouser leg a couple of times. Works a treat, and sometimes gets the card to work, too. Having said that, my GF had her bank card skimmed at one of the machines once and her bank account was plundered straight down to the overdraft limit.
 

Haitch

Flim Flormally
Location
Netherlands
Delftse Post,

If your still on the line, I remember you saying once that you worked at the VUMC. Junior has to go and watch an operation there at 8 in the morning (tickets for the afternoon knifing had sold out). Do you know the best way to get there from Amsterdam Zuid/WTC by public transport?
 
U

User169

Guest
Delftse Post,

If your still on the line, I remember you saying once that you worked at the VUMC. Junior has to go and watch an operation there at 8 in the morning (tickets for the afternoon knifing had sold out). Do you know the best way to get there from Amsterdam Zuid/WTC by public transport?

Hi Alan

I worked at AMC. I've never travelled to VUMC, so can't really advise. It looks quite close to the Amsterdam Zuid station, but not sure if it's walkable.
 

Haitch

Flim Flormally
Location
Netherlands
Thanks, DP. I had the blinding presence of mind of using jurjan's link: metro 51 from Zuid then 10 minutes' walk. Thanks, jurjan.

Sorry for kidnapping your thread, Kirstie.
 

willem

Über Member
It is in fact only a ten minutes walk from Amsterdam Zuid. I never bother with metro etc.,
Willem
 
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