Northern trains Leeds area, bike advice

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classic33

Leg End Member
They weren't too bad, before all this started, so long as it wasn't peak period.

@ColinJ has the most recent experience.
 

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
As @Blue Hills posts above, they are absolutely fine.

The one time that I didn't manage to get onboard a Northern train with my bike was when I tried on the first commuter train back from Leeds after 5 pm. That was so crammed with commuters that it just wasn't physically possible. I waited 20-odd minutes and the next train was half-empty. No problem at all.

Sometimes they have crappy little compartments which only take 2 bikes but you could stand with your bike somewhere else as long as you were not obstructing people's movement.

Some of the bike spaces on the more modern trains are really only big enough for children's bikes. They have 3 fold-up seats with a space in front of them. Ideally, they would have 4 or 5 fold-up seats. This is what my bike looked like on the way to Blackburn for my last forum ride...

1630670644726.jpeg


Note my bungee cord securing the bike. I never rely on the restraints provided - sometimes they are missing, broken, awkward or ineffective.
 
Northern is fine. I was on a two-carriage train today which was fairly crowded - not rammed, but very few seats free - and it ended up with five cyclists on board. It wasn't a problem. If you're polite and helpful to the staff, I find they are the same back to you. In general they seem to be a cheerful bunch, not too hidebound and willing to be a little bit flexible, within boundaries of course. I ended up folding my bike and tucking it and myself into a strange little luggage compartment after a woman with a buggy had vacated it to get off the train, to allow the fourth and fifth cyclists to get themselves and the bikes in without blocking the aisles. They stood for the journey holding theirs as there was nothing to fasten them to, it was just a blank space. Only 25 minutes though so not too much of a hardship.
Honestly I think Northern should get a medal compared to Transpennine who say that you MUST have a reservation for the bike, but having one doesn't mean you can actually take it with you ... what sort of pretence of a service is that?
 
Location
London
In general they seem to be a cheerful bunch, not too hidebound and willing to be a little bit flexible, within boundaries of course. I ended up folding my bike and tucking it and myself into a strange little luggage compartment after a woman with a buggy had vacated it to get off the train, to allow the fourth and fifth cyclists to get themselves and the bikes in without blocking the aisles. They stood for the journey holding theirs as there was nothing to fasten them to, it was just a blank space. Only 25 minutes though so not too much of a hardship.
remarkable that they are so easygoing after the company's history, crowds of frustrated travellers to deal with during the long-term service meltdown of the recent past. I was on a northern train at manchester picadilly that was sardine rammed worse than any london tube rush-hour tin - rammed even though I had chosen the train as off-peak as they had cancelled so many trains that everyone was on this. But with a quick dash I still got my bike on - no-one suggested that I get off (mind you they would have had trouble extracting me).
So, yep a big thumbs up for northern and cyclists from me.
 

smoggie

Active Member
I used to travel by train, to and from Leeds, daily. Although I didn't have my bike, there were plenty of others that did. As mentioned above, there is no problem as long as you are not getting on at Rush hour. I used to get the 10 to 6 Donny train and it was rammed. Wait another 20 minutes and it's half empty.
 
I'll be going to either Lytham or Morecambe tomorrow - haven't decided yet - and anticipating any problems would be silly, given Northern's current record with cyclists. That's the beauty of them, no need for all this pre-booking/reservations malarkey. If someone with a wheelchair needs more space then I'll fold my bike, or offer to get the next train, or one to somewhere else.
 

geocycle

Legendary Member
Big fan of Northern for bikes. Always been very sensible on the Morecambe to Leeds and Lancaster to Barrow routes. The only issue is their new trains have a wheel bender bike stand that doesn’t hold the bike upright around corners. Definitely need a bungee.
 
Location
London
Big fan of Northern for bikes. Always been very sensible on the Morecambe to Leeds and Lancaster to Barrow routes. The only issue is their new trains have a wheel bender bike stand that doesn’t hold the bike upright around corners. Definitely need a bungee.
Yep but you don't have to use it - I never would and I would guess most on here wouldn't.
Had a great trip with Northern in the last couple of weeks - no probs with bike in what would be classed as rush hour though there weren't that many on the train.
Both trains in the trip ran and were on time - faultless connection - they do seem to have improved since the virtual nationalisation.
Mind you, they aren't immune to this sort of event:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-engla...re-58433460?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA
 
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