Told by conductor not to board train with bike.

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Skipperkroen

New Member
I live up in East Lothian, near Edinburgh, and I sometimes take my bike on the train and into Edinburgh and cycle home on the days that I do have to work in the city. The early morning (7-9am) trains can be congested and it's always impossible to even get into the carriage that has the (inadequate) bike rack in it so I usually jump on, last, into one of the other carriages.

This has never been an issue until this morning when I was aggressively prevented from boarding a carriage by one of the conductors. I was told to head for the bike carriage but I knew I'd end up being at the doors anyway and I stated this and headed off to another carriage and boarded.

Thankfully, he never came near me so public and embarrassing slanging match was avoided. I have checked this operator's regs and there is nowhere in them that states that I cannot board a carriage that has no bike rack. I've approached the operator via their on-line complaints form so time will pass before they respond. Can I ask members here of their similar experiences and how they were resolved, if at all?
 

byegad

Legendary Member
Location
NE England
TRAIN? You have trains? That road transport owning guy Beeching closed ours 50 + yrs ago.
 

Slick

Guru
I've always found the conductors really helpful, one young girl in particular turned out to be a bit of a cyclist training for last years Glasgow to Edinburgh and spent most of the short journey yapping to me about bikes. I've never bothered reserving a space but I've also never tried to get my bike on a commuter train. The few times I've used the train to either get home or start my ride somewhere a bit more interesting I've always been directed to the seat by the doors and told to keep my bike tucked in as much as possible.
 

NorthernDave

Never used Über Member
Trans-Pennine Express have just banned any bikes without a prior reservation which you have to ring them for - effectively killing commuting by bike across much of the North.
Their helpful advice is to buy another bike so you can cycle to station A, lock bike 1 there all day, get the train to station B, get number 2 bike from where you've left it locked all night and cycle on to work.

Northern currently don't give two hoots how many bikes are on the train or where they're put (within reason), although with a load of new trains due by the end of the year, watch this space.
 

Brandane

Legendary Member
Location
Costa Clyde
Trans-Pennine Express have just banned any bikes without a prior reservation which you have to ring them for - effectively killing commuting by bike across much of the North.
Thanks for the warning. TPE run most of the trains between Glasgow and Lockerbie, which just happens to be a route that I like to use for access to southern Scotland. It was always handy to just turn up and go - but no more :sad:.
 

Brandane

Legendary Member
Location
Costa Clyde
Trans-Pennine Express have just banned any bikes without a prior reservation which you have to ring them for
Looks like you can book a bike space on their website. I checked only because I know you can do it on the Scotrail site - for TPE trains!

Screenshot (24).png
 

NorthernDave

Never used Über Member
Looks like you can book a bike space on their website. I checked only because I know you can do it on the Scotrail site - for TPE trains!

View attachment 409865

That's good as there were reports that they'd removed the option to book online.
But that only works if you know exactly which train you'll be catching - if you have to work a bit later, or even get finished early(!) and you're up the creek, same if you're a bit delayed on a leisure ride.
 

classic33

Leg End Member
Trans-Pennine Express have just banned any bikes without a prior reservation which you have to ring them for - effectively killing commuting by bike across much of the North.
Their helpful advice is to buy another bike so you can cycle to station A, lock bike 1 there all day, get the train to station B, get number 2 bike from where you've left it locked all night and cycle on to work.

Northern currently don't give two hoots how many bikes are on the train or where they're put (within reason), although with a load of new trains due by the end of the year, watch this space.
Look the light blue hand rails, in place of the purple ones. On City Connect routes the ban is already in place, by the company. Guards who may soon be out of a job when Driver Only operation comes in don't seem too bothered.
 

SkipdiverJohn

Deplorable Brexiteer
Location
London
I sometimes take my bike on the train and into Edinburgh and cycle home on the days that I do have to work in the city. The early morning (7-9am) trains can be congested and it's always impossible to even get into the carriage that has the (inadequate) bike rack in it so I usually jump on, last, into one of the other carriages.

Totally illogical behaviour. Why try to cram yourself and a bike into a crowded rush hour commuter train, then ride back later in the day when the train would probably be less crowded? Would make a lot more sense to ride in to town in the morning, thereby avoiding the jam-packed commuter train, then put the bike on the train home later in the evening!
 
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classic33

Leg End Member
No, but they look OK for a station to office trip.
Have you read the link I posted?
It says they can be kept for 72 hours. I doubt the OP would be in his office for longer than that without going home.
They've upped the time limit since I last used one. Applied shortly after they were introduced in stations around here. Charged at a daily rate.
 

NorthernDave

Never used Über Member
No, but they look OK for a station to office trip.
Have you read the link I posted?
It says they can be kept for 72 hours. I doubt the OP would be in his office for longer than that without going home.

They've upped the time limit since I last used one. Applied shortly after they were introduced in stations around here. Charged at a daily rate.

£3.80 per day is a lot to pay for the last mile or so from the station to work (£76 for a typical 20 day working month), especially if you already own a bike and have been taking it on the train for nothing.

And have you read this on their website?
When returning your bike to stations with restricted opening hours, if the ticket office is closed, drop your bike key into the Bike & Go drop box. These can be found next to the bike storage locations. Your rental period will only stop when the ticket office re-opens and keys are collected.

That's terrible especially if, like my local station, the ticket office is only staffed mornings Mon - Sat and not at all on Sundays and Bank Holidays.

It's no wonder I've never seen anyone riding one!
 

classic33

Leg End Member
£3.80 per day is a lot to pay for the last mile or so from the station to work (£76 for a typical 20 day working month), especially if you already own a bike and have been taking it on the train for nothing.

And have you read this on their website?
When returning your bike to stations with restricted opening hours, if the ticket office is closed, drop your bike key into the Bike & Go drop box. These can be found next to the bike storage locations. Your rental period will only stop when the ticket office re-opens and keys are collected.

That's terrible especially if, like my local station, the ticket office is only staffed mornings Mon - Sat and not at all on Sundays and Bank Holidays.

It's no wonder I've never seen anyone riding one!
There is no box in either Bradford station or Halifax. All keys collected from the ticket office or station staff.
 
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