Bikes on Virgin trains

[KneesUp]

When I loaded my bike at York there was only one bike on the train, at Newcastle 2 more come on so that was one more than should have been on, yes my one was that one.

... I tried to board an earlier train. The guard wouldn't let me though - he knew exactly how many bikes he had booked on, and told me that although there was a space now it would be filled by someone further along the line.

The fact that it sometimes works properly and sometimes doesn't makes it even more stressful to consider unless you book a place and start at the beginning of the route (so non-booked bikes aren't in the spaces) and end at the end (so you don't end up on the platform trying to get to the bike carriage as the train leaves).

Our privatised train service is very good at returning profit to shareholders and taking subsidies, but not so good at providing a train service that is a viable alternative for car owners or entirely useful for anyone.

 

[LewisLondon]

The most annoying thing is the lack of ability to just click a button online when booking tickets to add a bike. If it was linked to the system, it could at least tell you before you book a ticket if it's feasible or not, rather than relying on call centre staff (not limited to just Virgin trains!)

 

[KneesUp]

You can if you use the old East Coast Line booking system, which has now been rebranded by Virgin, and through which you can book any rail journey.

I am amused/annoyed that this reveals that the software allows you to book bike tickets with passenger tickets, but the rail companies have chosen that on the whole they'd rather it was as difficult as possible, so haven't bothered to implement it.