East Coast train: no cycle space available

[vernon]

I have plenty of info on my homepage.

And your home page is found at.......??

 

[toroddf]

here and a more general Scotland tour guide at here

More tours, a lot more tours, will be added later.

 

[Wendel]

Toroddf, Islay is too close to be the ultimate destination.
The tour will roughly go like this: Arran - Oban - Fort William - Ardnamurchan - Mull - Oban - Inveraray - Helensburgh (9 days)
I know about the hilly profiles; I need to consider the hills with respect to my co-cyclist. I'll visit your website, thanks.

Helen, I saw your Mosel plans but it'll be after my return (I'll leave Newcastle on Sunday 23rd). Please tell me exactle which train route you mean and I'll check. However, the RE routes (RegionalExpress) are fine and usually have plenty space for cycles.

 

[Auntie Helen]

Wendel, it's the RE13 from Venlo to Hamm (NRW) via Düsseldorf. They have apparently put a new type of train on this line (Eurobahn) and it isn't allowed to be used in Holland yet, so you have to take a normal train from Venlo to Kaldenkirchen (4 minutes!) over the border, then change onto the Eurobahn. It seems that DB is trying to get Holland to authorise use of the Eurobahn, but I'm not sure when that is likely to happen. I've done this journey a few times and the old DB train at Venlo was pretty tricky for my trike to get on and off so I'd be delighted if the Eurobahn will be ready for a month's time, but I can't seem to find that out. The rest of the journey is fine with the trike, the only irritation being that Koblenz doesn't have lifts on the platforms so I have to carry the trike up and down stairs.

We're travelling on a Schönes-Wochenende ticket and our outgoing journey is over Pfingsten so I'm wondering if the trains will be full of people... I know that last year when I was touring over Pfingsten it was a bit tricky to find accommodation; we've pre-booked that, but I'm wondering if DB will get annoyed about a trike, bike and tandem filling up their trains...

 

[toroddf]

Toroddf, Islay is too close to be the ultimate destination.
The tour will roughly go like this: Arran - Oban - Fort William - Ardnamurchan - Mull - Oban - Inveraray - Helensburgh (9 days)

Good choice !!!!!

I have done all of that, with the exception of the Tarbert to Oban road. I will do that one in 8 weeks time on my way to Western Isles. Please feel free to advice me about this road if you are back before I leave.

A couple of hints:

The Northern loop of Mull over Calgary Bay and Dervaig is brilliant. The funniest and most magic evening I have ever had on a bike. Please note there is two big hills between Dervaig and Tobermory.
Calgary Bay have some of Scotland's best wild-camp sites and a superb beach.

The Inveraray to Helensburgh road is good too. The road down from Rest And Be Thankful have some really bad tarmac and big potholes due to frequent rockfalls. Beware !
The road along Loch Long is brilliant technical cycling with some small undulations (and far better than the Loch Lomond road), just punctuated with a short 20 % hill at the end.
The Helensburgh promenade down at the sea front is excellent too.

Have a good journey and beware of the sheep on Mull.

 

[Wendel]

Torodff, thanks for the hints. We're looking forward a lot to coming to Scotland. Please prepare acceptable weather. Last weekend I was in South England with wonderful weather.
Where are you located?

Helen, Eurobahn is a private train company operating in the Bahn network. Private operators seem to be growing in Germany. In my region (Berlin/Potsdam) there are also some private operators, and travelling with them is very pleasant. However, here they run smaller trains with less cycle space than the Bahn RE trains.

For your planned route, they write that they expect confirmation for their new trains for Holland by end of April (well, this is today...). I assume you know this route's website ?
I suggest to contact them directly (you speak German, don't you?), to check the trike issue / train size / cycle space and the need to change. I can ask them as well if you like.
Anyway, they write that for the time being one has to change at Kaldenkirchen (as you wrote) just across the platform, and I'm absolutely sure that'll work.

You wrote your tour starts May 29th - but this is one week after Pfingsten. Did your tour plan change?
In any case, in good weather trains might be quite full... but since you enter the train where it starts i.e. at Kaldenkirchen (or Venlo), there shouldn't be a problem to enter.

 

[Auntie Helen]

You're right about Pfingsten - I just checked my diary and it's the 23rd May. Not sure where I got confused, except that originally we were going a week earlier on the tour but the 29th onward fitted in better with some of the others who were going to come. Well that should mean the trains are easier.

When I have travelled this route before the trains haven't been very busy so I think we should be OK to get on at Venlo/Kaldenkirchen. The difficulty is that we have to all travel together (because of the Schönes-Wochenende ticket) but we have a couple of awkward bicycles. I shall practise my charming smile and my amusingly-English-accented German.

I assume the Schönes-Wochenende ticket still works on the private train companies? That wasn't something I had thought about before, I assumed that the RE line was Deutsche Bahn as normal, but that the Eurobahn was a type of train, not a new company. I shall keep an eye on the website and see if the train goes directly from Venlo by the time we travel, but the changing trains will be fine I am sure - I expect the Eurobahn will wait for the DB train from Venlo...

Thanks for your help Wendel - it's much appreciated. I do speak German but I find it hard to understand technical stuff in railway websites sometimes. They don't teach you that kind of vocabulary at Uni, it's all about the Wiedervereinigung and die Ökosystem these days...

 

[Wendel]

I assume the Schönes-Wochenende ticket still works on the private train companies?

Yes. Obviously yes.
There are those private train operators operating together with the Bahn within local "Verkehrsverbund" which is kind of group organization with common tariffs and schedules (example: Verkehrsverbund Berlin/Brandenburg, VBB). If you check the connections on the Bahn website, a price is given for your route so it's all "one pot" and I dare say the SWE ticket is valid. To be really sure, it's better to ask.
Changing at Kaldenkirchen (trains waiting) will be no problem, I'm sure, because it's a dedicated one due to the temporary train mismatch.

Btw, there are also few private long-distance train operators in Germany (e.g. Interconnex), and those use the Bahn rail network on selected routes but they have an own tariff scheme where Bahn tickets are not valid.
Anyway, Eurobahn is not going long distance.

 

[Auntie Helen]

temporary train mismatch

That is a brilliant phrase and not one that I've heard the British railways using before. They ought to store it up when they can't use 'leaves on the line' or 'the wrong kind of snow' or 'a cow on the line' (which happened when my husband was getting the train to North Wales before now).

 

[toroddf]

Torodff, thanks for the hints. We're looking forward a lot to coming to Scotland. Please prepare acceptable weather. Last weekend I was in South England with wonderful weather.
Where are you located?

Paisley, the first station after Glasgow on your 50 minutes long train journey between Glasgow and Ardrossan Harbour.

I lived in Helensburgh for many years and I know this area well. I am also filling in the white spots on my cycle-map in between working these days in my preparation for that Western Isles & Western Ross tour in July.

Please remember to buy the local midge repellent stuff on arrival in Scotland. The European stuff does not work here.

 

[Wendel]

Please remember to buy the local midge repellent stuff on arrival in Scotland. The European stuff does not work here.

Yes I know. Are these lovely cute midges expected to be active before May 23rd? I hoped they would start their job end of May only...
Which repellent can you recommend?

 

[toroddf]

Boots Chemists have a good shop at the Glasgow Central station just on your 50 meters long walk between the London train and the Ardrossan train (on the station). I use their own brand midge repellent.
I am going past that shop tomorrow on my way to a long ride so I will check it out.

Please note that you are arriving on platform 1-3 from London and have to cross over to platform 11 -14 (to the extreme left) on Central Station.

 

[Wendel]

I bought another ticket with cycle reservations for a later train, to be on the safe side. If we won't make it for the first booked connection, we'll try the next. With the latter connection we will still catch the same ferry *, so this will be fine.

In addition to my last week's post:
Since I still hope to catch the 1st connection (w/o cycle reservations), I bought the mentioned 2nd 'safety' ticket to Glasgow only (with cycle reservations) and not to Ardrossan, and only in case I need to use it I would buy the Glasgow-Ardrossan ticket over there. Now I was told that for local trains (like Glasgow-Ardrossan) cycle reservations might also be advised. @toroddf: Do the trains on that service have sufficient cycle spaces? What do you recommend me to do?
In detail: The 1st train leaves Newcastle at 12:05. So, a few minutes after 12 I'll know whether I'll have to use the 2nd connection. If so, the ferry train leaves Glasgow at 16:50. Thus, I would buy the Glasgow-Ardrossan ticket in Newcastle just after 12 i.e. almost 5 hrs before departure. Can I expect to get cycle reservations, too?
I hope my questions are not too complicated...

 

[toroddf]

I have never ever heard about cycle reservation on Glasgow-Ardrossan Harbour. But then again; I normally cycle this way on a retired railway track.
But yes, I would recommend cycle reservation if they say so. I may be able to do that for you if you give me the times. But in May ? I don't think so. I have never ever been denied access. We are talking about local service trains. Trains which is almost like prams. No, I will have a better chance to marry the Loch Ness Monster than you having problems here. But I will check this out.

When are you arriving in Glasgow ? If you have plenty of time; please also note that you can take the Glasgow to Largs train instead of that Ardrossan Harbour stress fest train (5 minutes transfer from train to ferry).
You jump of at Saltcoats and take a 5 - 10 minutes long cycle trip to the ferry along the sea front. The Largs trains leave at 14.45, 15.45 and 16.18.
That will leave you better time to sort out the multi journey ferry tickets (a saving with up to 70 %) in Ardrossan. Print a Saltcoats - Ardrossan Harbour map from www.multimap.com
This is actually what I intent to do myself in July. I will take the Largs train, jump off in Saltcoats and take the time to sort out the big savings multi journey ferry tickets in Ardrossan instead of being stressed with on that Ardrossan Harbour train.

Did I answer your questions ?

Edit: You can actually take the Glasgow - Largs and the Glasgow - Ardrossan South Beach train to Ardrossan South Beach instead. This is only 5-10 minutes dead flat cycle ride to the ferry terminal.

The train times are 14.45, 15.15, 15.45 and 16.18.

I did this twelve years ago and it was dead easy cycling from that railway station. Hmm....... I think me too will change to this train station in July.

It was nice to sort out the ferry tickets in peace and quiet without getting heart attack and sudden death in the process.

 

[Wendel]

Thanks - if you never ever heard about problems it'll be fine. This is what I wanted to know. I'll attend your Nessie wedding, btw.

I want to catch the Ardrossan ferry departing 18:00.

• The 1st train from Newcastle arrives at Glasgow at 14:47. Sufficient time to get any train to Ardrossan.

• The 2nd train (if I won't make it for the 1st) arrives at Glasgow at 16:27, and in this case I need to take the 16:50 train arriving 17:44 at Ardrossan Harbour. No buffer here, that's why I'm asking.

Thanks for the Saltcoats hint and for your support. The Largs train also stops at Ardrossan South Beach which is even closer to the ferry.