CrossCountry trains bike policy: Friday +-7:30pm Coventry

[SavageHoutkop]

We had an announcement from the train manager after a delay at Coventry telling us that two people tried to board with unreserved bicycles; and then when denied boarding (train was very full) they jammed the door open with one of the wheels...? (time about 7:30 pm)

Upon leaving the train I noted that the one bike space says on it in any case that this space cannot be reserved - and the other two were empty as well (but there was a full-sized bike who wasn't hung up - still would have two spaces free).

Anyone else been denied boarding with a bike - and any ideas why one bike space says it can't be reserved if you need a reservation to travel with the bike!?

 

[Debian]

We had an announcement from the train manager after a delay at Coventry telling us that two people tried to board with unreserved bicycles; and then when denied boarding (train was very full) they jammed the door open with one of the wheels...? (time about 7:30 pm)

Upon leaving the train I noted that the one bike space says on it in any case that this space cannot be reserved - and the other two were empty as well (but there was a full-sized bike who wasn't hung up - still would have two spaces free).

Anyone else been denied boarding with a bike - and any ideas why one bike space says it can't be reserved if you need a reservation to travel with the bike!?

I don't need to use the trains so have no idea about the reservation policy.

Disgraceful really though. Every train should have ample space for bikes. Never used to be a problem when trains had guards vans.

 

[thomas]

A couple years ago a friend bought his train ticket, then went to get on. he got on, and then got asked to get off because of his bike and there not being enough room. He point blank refused saying he wouldn't of bothered buying the train ticket had he known at the time he wouldn't of been allowed on.

He refused to get off for about 10 minutes...until the transport police turned up. I think then he saw sense.

 

[StuartG]

Cross Country Cycle Policy is ambiguous. There may be space, there may be a reservation not taken up or for further down the line so causing confusion:

Up to two bicycles can be carried free of charge per train.

Reservations are highly recommended, as bikes for which no reservation has been made will be accepted on a first come, first served basis and subject to space being available. If you have a folding bike, you can carry these as normal hand luggage.

Please check where you should store your bike when you make your reservation. Bikes must be carried in the designated area of the train – we can’t carry bikes in aisles or vestibule areas as they can cause an obstruction.

To reserve a space for your bike and for more information call 0844 811 0124.

 

[SavageHoutkop]

Up to two bicycles can be carried free of charge per train.

But there are three spaces on coach D (on this route) alone!?

 

[MacB]

The guard makes a difference, some try to help some only see the strict rules. So far I've been lucky, one time the guard just squeezed my bike in for me even though the allocated space was full.

Public transport falls a long way short when catering for mixed mode journeys.

 

[Crankarm]

A couple years ago a friend bought his train ticket, then went to get on. he got on, and then got asked to get off because of his bike and there not being enough room. He point blank refused saying he wouldn't of bothered buying the train ticket had he known at the time he wouldn't of been allowed on.

He refused to get off for about 10 minutes...until the transport police turned up. I think then he saw sense.

If there were allocated bike spaces available and you were still asked to leave the train why would it be a police matter? Surely merely a civil matter. Presumably your friend told the ticket office he had a bike prior to purchase or they could see he did so should have made him aware that he was wasting his money. They had infact made a misrepresentation when they sold your friend his ticket. Tell plod that if they so much as lay a finger on you 1) you will defend yourself and 2)you will make a complaint of assault and police harrassment.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Tell plod that if they so much as lay a finger on you 1) you will defend yourself and 2)you will make a complaint of assault and police harrassment.

Regardless of the rights or wrongs of the case, a strategy like this is only ever going to end one way and it's unlikely to be a life affirming experience for anyone involved who isn't a copper.

 

[Crankarm]

Regardless of the rights or wrongs of the case, a strategy like this is only ever going to end one way and it's unlikely to be a life affirming experience for anyone involved who isn't a copper.

Which just goes to show the bully boy attitude the police can take being subservient to rail companies and any other situation where they use excessive force or abuse their powers. Perhaps the police should be detaining the official from the train company as they have sold you, sorry your friend, a train ticket that they cannot use.

 

[Freewheeler]

The situation on the railways is a bit different to dealing with other companies. They have their own police force and byelaws and I'm pretty sure refusing to leave a train when instructed by a guard is an offence. I think the proper course would be to get the guard's name, leave the train and put in a complaint about his attitude; doubt you'd get satisfaction though. He's probably an ex-Virgin guard, they are very strict about bike reservations.

 

[hackbike 666]

Difficult one.From the other side I can see why they don't want bikes on trains at certain times.

Regardless of the rights or wrongs of the case, a strategy like this is only ever going to end one way and it's unlikely to be a life affirming experience for anyone involved who isn't a copper.

Agree.Deal with plod badly will only end up in tears.Is it really worth it?

 

[SavageHoutkop]

Difficult one.From the other side I can see why they don't want bikes on trains at certain times.

I can too; but I'm curious as to why bikes were denied access when/if there were bike spaces free (I was seated at this point, so didn't see the altercation - or, for that matter, just how many people were standing in the doorway/luggage rack area).
In particular I'm confused why you can only book two bikes onto a cross country train (according to their own policy) when there were (at least) three spaces on the train I was on, one of which was marked 'non reservable'. Having a free space then denying access to it because it wasn't reserved, if you can't reserve it in any case, is a bit odd.

 

[Matthames]

In particular I'm confused why you can only book two bikes onto a cross country train (according to their own policy) when there were (at least) three spaces on the train I was on, one of which was marked 'non reservable'. Having a free space then denying access to it because it wasn't reserved, if you can't reserve it in any case, is a bit odd.

I can only guess, but I think it might have something to do with the type of trains they run. As far as I am aware cross country trains run 3 different types of train, each of these have a different capacity of bikes they can carry.

The trains they run are:-
Class 170 which has a capacity of 2 bikes although could take 4 bikes but at the expense of the seats reserved for disabled customers.

Class 220 which has the hooks and is probably the one you were on.

Class 43 HST which has a guard type carriage and can take quite a few bikes.

 

[SavageHoutkop]

Update : queried cycle policy with Cross Country (for future travellers...)

"All our services have three bike spaces. Two are reservable and one is unreserved but available on a first come, first served basis. The reason for having an unreserved space is because we do carry passengers that have not planned their journey in advance. An unreserved bike space, much like an unreserved seat, gives passengers some flexibility on when they can travel.

The incident at Coventry station involved passengers trying to force their way on to the train with two bikes and no reservations. As two spaces had already been reserved, we were only able to safely carry one bike. The passengers would not accept this and the British Transport Police had to attend the incident.

Thank you once again for getting in touch."

 

[Cranky]

My touring buddy and I were refused entry to the only Cross Country train to Carlisle on that particular Sunday. We'd had a lift by car to Cheltenham, (miles out of our way) instead of Oxford, especially to get that train. I always reserve tickets for ourselves and our bikes but no reservations were available for that service, for some reason. The 'Train Manager' (guard) flatly refused to take both bikes as there was only one bike space available, despite our polite plea that this was the only train to Carlisle that day and we had a guest house reservation. We both had the distinct impression that she was waiting for us to offer a bribe.

The result was that we had to let the train go and then get the next one to Birmingham and 'wing it' from there. Luckily, this 'Train Manager' couldn't have been more helpful and used his portable computer thingy to give us a list of connections to Carlisle, via Birmingham and Newcastle, and we arrived at Carlisle barely an hour later than intended.

The irony of the situation was that, so often, we'd had to pull several bikes out of the compartment to get to ours before arriving at our destination.

This is only one of several tales of woe I could recount from my experience of travelling with bikes on trains.