Eurostar

[Punkawallah]

I thought the spaces were bookable (and maximum box dimensions is a normal thing on public transport, surely?) 🤷‍♂️

What is advertised, and its relationship to Real Life (tm), is often arbitrary - ask any Ryanair customer :-) The dimensions given as acceptable for boxing my ‘83 Galaxy to take it on a flight to Paris meant that I had to choose between pushing my luck, or removing the forks to get everything in. In the space of time between booking a bike place at Kings Cross Station and wheeling it to the platform, I was told the spaces were all taken, and there was no room. Caveat emptor, and all that.
And don’t call me ‘Shirley’ :-)

 

[matticus]

Anyone can TAKE a reservation.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T2GmGSNvaM

 

[TomDW]

The whole situation is dire. I feel your pain. I did take my bike back from Paris to Ldn pre pandemic and wasn't that easy even then.

 

[TomDW]

There may be a thread already, tho I looked.

What is the current situation for taking a bike on Eurostar ( have emailed them three times but over 3 months, no reply).

I want to tour the Camargue: the trains would be (Stonehaven) Aberdeen - London (GNER), London - Paris (Eurostar); Paris - Arles (or Avignon - poss TVG or slower train).
I need my bike to get from home to the station in Stonehaven. Not a problem with an assembled bike - a bit of a problem with a disassembled bike. I can book an assembled bike on GNER to London.
I then need to get the short distance from Kings Cross to St Pancras. Not a problem (with an assembled bike, less easy with a bike in a box.
I am not sure if I have to disassemble my bike to take it on EuroStar: it seems one does for the London Paris route.
Once in Paris I need to cross Paris to get from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon: not a problem with an assembled bike, but much trickier with a dissassembled bike.
I also need to spend a night either in London (YHA St Pancras) or Paris (HI next to Gare du Nord) - again easier with an assembled bike.

Needless to say, a bike that is dissassembled (and the bag or box to pack it in) are very much not ideal.

Does anyone have any further or more recent updates.

I am also told I cannot take e-bikes on either EuroStar, Scotrail or GNER trains (I am not intending to take my just purchased e-bike if things go to plan; the e-bike is to build up my stamina again (where I live it is a very steep incline to get out of the town before I can cycle).

Why not hire when you get there? Travelling with ebikes is problematic.

 

[TheDoctor]

LNER take ebikes. They took over from GNER a few years ago.
GWR and Avanti West Coast do as well - used them last summer.
For your trip, I'd get to Kings Cross, then cross the road to St Pancras and get a train to Dover, get on a ferry and then get trains from Calais, via Lille and/or Paris. It's just Eurostar getting in your way IMHO.

 

[styles]

LNER and ScotRail both take e-bikes. In fact I'm not aware of any train operating company in the UK which allows bikes but not e-bikes. Most do however say you're not allowed to charge them on board.

There is a fairly widespread ban on e-scooters.

The problem with e-scooters really is that as none of them are road legal in the UK, the only people manufacturing them have no safety standards to meet. Much like the "e-bikes" and conversion kits which allow non-pedal assist or have silly levels of power output or max speeds of 30mph, they're usually made by people who have little care for safety, and unsurprisingly this leads some of them to start fires, so they're often banned on safety grounds.

If you've got a road legal e-bike, you shouldn't face many barriers taking it on trains in the UK (well, beyond the usual barriers of taking a bike on a train here!)

Funny hearing it called GNER mind. My dad was a train driver back when it was InterCity, then GNER, then Virgin Trains East Coast, and is now a driver with LNER. Haven't heard it called GNER in a while! He works on the Aberdeen to Edinburgh stretch, so a chance he'll be your driver. I wonder if under Great British Rail they'll all end up under one new brand.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Useless for you but I think you can take bikes on le Shuttle. There's a minibus thingy. I did once plan to use it, but ended up getting a ferry so I have no experience of it. I just checked and it still exists. https://www.leshuttle.com/uk-en/travelling-with-us/travelling-with-different-vehicles/bicycles

I suppose you could get a train to Dover, go on the minibus through the tunnel then get a train to Paris from Calais and pick up your original journey. Not exactly convenient.

 

[mjr]

LNER and ScotRail both take e-bikes. In fact I'm not aware of any train operating company in the UK which allows bikes but not e-bikes.

London Overground and Elizabeth Line, since recently, unless folded. See the other thread about it. https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/tfl-e-bike-ban.302067/