Cycling by train

Bikes and trains are a great combination. Commuters get a seamless door-to-door journey; tourers and explorers can explore parts of the country outside normal cycling range.

But with almost 20 train companies, and many more types of train, getting your bike on board can be complex. Our detailed guide will reduce your train pain.

Bike arrangements vary from company to company: check our area pages to learn the drill on the line you’ve chosen. We’ve included the two-letter code for each company, which you’ll often see on timetables and train booking websites.

Booking

Booking a space for your bike is worth it on many long-distance trains, and compulsory on a few. It’s free with your passenger ticket. You can do it in the flesh at big stations; over the phone direct to the train company concerned; or on a few train company websites such as Chiltern Railways and Great Western Railway. Don’t use the Trainline – not only does it not book bikes, it charges you a booking fee.

Any website will sell you any ticket; you don’t need to use the company on whose route you’re travelling. Booking is rarely required on local or commuter trains.

You should book at least 24 hours in advance, but earlier if you can: bike spaces on long-distance trains often fill quickly.

When you can… and when you can’t

Anywhere near a major city, but especially London, bike carriage is restricted at peak times. Most commuter train companies have an outright ban on (non-folding) bikes at peak hours. Long-distance trains may let you on, but you’ll usually need to book.

Even if you can find a space, squeezing a bike into a packed train of commuters is no fun for you or them. If you can, travel off-peak – it’s cheaper, too.

The dreaded words ‘rail replacement bus service’ usually translate to ‘no bikes’. On occasion coaches are used, with an undercroft that will carry bikes, but don’t count on it. Check your journey carefully to ensure there’s no buses, particularly at weekends and Bank Holidays when most engineering work takes place.

Is there an alternative?

You don’t always need to take your usual bike with you. Can you just hire one at your destination? It’s not just Boris Bikes; several mainline stations now have Brompton hire ‘docks’.

Some commuters have cheap bikes that they leave overnight at the London station, so there’s no need to take them on the train every day. Or, of course, you can buy a folding bike, which will fit on any train – see our special page.

Comments?

This guide is based on our long experience taking bikes on Britain’s trains, but the situation can change quickly. If you have suggestions or updates, let us know by posting in the site forum.

Path upgrade makes commuter route

A brand new commuter cycling route is to be created in Oxfordshire by upgrading and resurfacing a field path.

The muddy Winnaway, from Harwell village to the Harwell Science Campus, will be widened and resurfaced to provide a comfortable, direct route. It will officially be reclassified as a Public Bridleway, which permits cycling.

A mini roundabout and ‘refuge’ islands at Harwell will make it easier for cyclists to cross the A417, while at the Science Campus, a short new length of cycle path will be built to give access both to the offices and to the existing Sustrans NCN route 544. 

Oxfordshire County Council says that both commuters and leisure cyclists will benefit from the improved path. HarBUG, the local campaign group, says it is “not a moment too soon, especially for those who have been cycling across the Winnaway with snorkels and flippers over the winter”.

One-third of election candidates back cycling

The London Cycling Campaign’s plan to sign up local election candidates to support cycling is working. Over one-third of candidates for the London elections have pledged to back the Space for Cycling campaign.

The figures include an amazing 99% support rate in Hackney, where every single major party has pledged to back it en masse. Over two-thirds of candidates have promised support in Islington, Greenwich, Croydon, and Hammersmith & Fulham. Every Green candidate has endorsed the manifesto, together with 37% of Labour candidates and 34% of LibDems – but only 11% of Conservatives, and a risible 0.2% of UKIP candidates.

Ashok Sinha, chief executive of LCC, said: “We’re thrilled to have the support of over a third of London's local election candidates. We invite all Londoners to join tomorrow’s Big Ride in central London, to put more pressure on all our politicians to support safe Space for Cycling in streets throughout the capital.”

Implausible load-carrying by bike - or is it?

China’s cyclists are renowned for carrying implausibly large loads on their bikes. Artist Alain Delorme has taken this one step further by Photoshopping teetering stacks onto images of Chinese cyclists. The work, ‘Totems’, would seem ridiculous – were it not for real-life pictures like these.

Beautiful Italian cycle touring website

Planning a cycle holiday to Italy? If you weren’t, you might be after perusing the beautiful new Bicitalia website, home of Italy’s own national cycle network. Admittedly it’s all in Italian (fancy that), but the pictures and the promises of rural routes are enough in themselves. We’re tempted…