Another rant about bikes and trains

Simon Brooke said:

You apparently can't (officially) book a bike on a virgin train at
anywhere but the station of departure. You can't do it on the Web. You
can't do it on the phone.

If so that has changed in the last couple of months since I last booked mine
by phone.

--
Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

Simon Brooke said:

My niece came down from Edinburgh at the weekend, with her new bike[1].
Normally she comes down by bus and I meet her at Dumfries, which is
half an hour's drive away. She could get to Dumfries by train, but that
means one train into Glesca, change stations, one train down to
Dumfries. So I met her at Lockerbie, which is nearer an hour away.

Today, she has to go back. So she phones up Virgin to book her bike on
the train.

Sorry, Dave, I can't do that.

Contrast with GNER's attitude:

You can take your bicycle with you on GNER trains at no extra cost but you
must reserve 24 hours in advance as space is limited. To make a bicycle
reservation, call GNER Telesales on 08451 212 525 or ask in the Ticket
Office at any National Rail Station.

Pretty reasonable, IMHO.

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Simon Brooke said:

My niece came down from Edinburgh at the weekend, with her new bike[1].
Normally she comes down by bus and I meet her at Dumfries, which is
half an hour's drive away. She could get to Dumfries by train, but that
means one train into Glesca, change stations, one train down to
Dumfries. So I met her at Lockerbie, which is nearer an hour away.

Today, she has to go back. So she phones up Virgin to book her bike on
the train.

Sorry, Dave, I can't do that.

Contrast with GNER's attitude:

You can take your bicycle with you on GNER trains at no extra cost but you
must reserve 24 hours in advance as space is limited. To make a bicycle
reservation, call GNER Telesales on 08451 212 525 or ask in the Ticket
Office at any National Rail Station.

Pretty reasonable, IMHO.

Especially as the 24 hours in advance is not actually necessary. Most
stations will write you out a card then and there (They can check the
availability on the system first) and if time is tight, they will
usually suggest that you just see the guard and explain. The only GNER
trains that actually have a 3 bike restriction are the HSTs (Not sure
what this is... just remember getting on one once!). They have the three
hooks for hanging bikes. The newly refitted Mallards have six Sheffield
Stand style racks in the guard's van with straps for each and the older
trains have oodles of floor space in which to lay down your bike.

I like Virgin trains (Mainly 'cos I like Mr. Branson) but I can't help
but wonder what they're playing at with things like this. Concerted
letter writing campaign anyone?

Jon

John Hearns said:

On Mon, 12 Jul 2004 09:35:03 +0000, Simon Brooke wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Today, she has to go back. So she phones up Virgin to book her bike on
the train.

Sorry, Dave, I can't do that.

Contrast with GNER's attitude:

You can take your bicycle with you on GNER trains at no extra cost but
you
must reserve 24 hours in advance as space is limited. To make a bicycle
reservation, call GNER Telesales on 08451 212 525 or ask in the Ticket
Office at any National Rail Station.

Pretty reasonable, IMHO.

Reasonable for booking for longer journeys yes, but both companies are
unreasonable (officially) for short journeys. Between Durham and Newcastle
(one stop) there are three TSOs (or is it TOCs?), GNER, Virgin, and
Arriva. In fact the Arriva service was two separate TSOs effectively but
they are now reduced to just their Transpennine services and thus reduced
in frequency. Only Arriva will take bikes on spec, the others both require
advanced reservations even if the guard's van is empty and even if the
bike is being transported one stop, ie it can't affect future reserved
bikes (though often the services terminate in Newcastle so the point is
often moot.) Some guards are nice enough to accept bikes under such
circumstances but others dutifully follow the official line.

Colin

Jon Senior <jon@restlesslemon_DOT_co_DOT_uk.remove> wrote:
( The only GNER
) trains that actually have a 3 bike restriction are the HSTs (Not sure
( what this is... just remember getting on one once!).

The HSTs are the diesel (ans subsequently electric) loco-hauled trains
that were introduced at Modernisation. I'm sure some other anorak will
correct me, but I think the "high speed" bit of high speed train refers
to the capability of achieving 90mph in service.

"Geraint Jones" <[email hidden]>
wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Jon Senior <jon@restlesslemon_DOT_co_DOT_uk.remove> wrote:
( The only GNER
) trains that actually have a 3 bike restriction are the HSTs (Not sure
( what this is... just remember getting on one once!).

The HSTs are the diesel (ans subsequently electric) loco-hauled trains
that were introduced at Modernisation. I'm sure some other anorak will
correct me, but I think the "high speed" bit of high speed train refers
to the capability of achieving 90mph in service.

I always thought HST were the 125mph ones. (the original pointy ones, all
diesel).

cheers,
clive

in message <[email hidden]>, Simon
Brooke ([email hidden]'😉 wrote:

And the follow-up:

Quoted message said:

You apparently can't (officially) book a bike on a virgin train at
anywhere but the station of departure. You can't do it on the Web. You
can't do it on the phone. And you also can't do it at all, apparently,
on the day of travel, because 'bookings have already closed'.

We arrived at Lockerbie station where the booking clerk informed us that
she was not able to issue bicycle bookings at all. Not for today's
train, not for tomorrow's train, not for next weeks train. This had to
be done, she said, by telephone. My niece politely asked her for a
complaints form, and went away fulminating. Fortunately when the train
came in we were able to get the bike aboard, and as my niece pointed
out, if they wanted to throw her off the train, the next stop was
Edinburgh anyway.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
;; Generally Not Used
;; Except by Middle Aged Computer Scientists

in message <[email hidden]>, Just zis Guy, you know?

(') said:

Simon Brooke said:

You apparently can't (officially) book a bike on a virgin train at
anywhere but the station of departure. You can't do it on the Web.
You can't do it on the phone.

If so that has changed in the last couple of months since I last
booked mine by phone.

That's what Virgin's telesales people said this morning. However, see my
other followup, the station booking clerk told us that she was not able
to make a bicycle reservation at all - it had to be done through
telesales. So it seems that the front-line staff at both ends - on the
telephone and on the stations - have been instructed not to issue bike
bookings.

If you can do it on the Web (and for heavens' sake you surely ought to
be able to do it on the Web), I'd be grateful if someone would point
out where.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; When all else fails, read the distractions.

"Clive George" <[email hidden]> wrote:
( I always thought HST were the 125mph ones. (the original pointy ones, all
) diesel).

Quite right. I claim my prize for not being an anorak.

John Hearns said:

Simon Brooke said:

Today, she has to go back. So she phones up Virgin to book her bike on
the train.

Sorry, Dave, I can't do that.

And contrast with the Oxford Tube coach line.
One passed me in London, and I saw a little door marked with a bike symbol,
and a notice something like "Please ask coach staff for assistance"

For fecks sake, if a COACH company can manage bike lockers on their
vehicles, then Virgin Trains (half owned by Stagecoach...) can manage it.
And bike spaces will definitely be limited on a coach - the locker is
only so big! And the Oxford Tube doesn't ask for reservations, AFAIK. Just
that there is room.

John Hearns said:

For fecks sake, if a COACH company can manage bike lockers on their
vehicles, then Virgin Trains (half owned by Stagecoach...) can manage it.
And bike spaces will definitely be limited on a coach - the locker is
only so big! And the Oxford Tube doesn't ask for reservations, AFAIK. Just
that there is room.

Look at the bottom of:
http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cyclemaps/contacts.html
3 cycles on each coach. Carriage is free.

I have definitely stepped through a looking glass somewhere and come out
in a parallel universe, where huge snorting diesel trains running on
dedicated permanent ways cannot carry bikes, and a big bus can.

Simon Brooke said:

That's what Virgin's telesales people said this morning. However, see
my other followup, the station booking clerk told us that she was not
able to make a bicycle reservation at all - it had to be done through
telesales. So it seems that the front-line staff at both ends - on the
telephone and on the stations - have been instructed not to issue bike
bookings.

A case for Hanlon's Razoe, methinks :-)

Quoted message said:

If you can do it on the Web (and for heavens' sake you surely ought to
be able to do it on the Web), I'd be grateful if someone would point
out where.

No, you can't do it on the web - I phoned.

--
Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

John Hearns <[email hidden]> wrote:
( I have definitely stepped through a looking glass somewhere and come out
) in a parallel universe, where huge snorting diesel trains running on
( dedicated permanent ways cannot carry bikes, and a big bus can.

Er, mind you, that's a big bus run by a company that's just invested in
a fleet of big buses for the Oxford to London run that are too big to
fit into the world's most cramped bus station in the middle of Oxford,
so the world's not entirely messed up.

Oxford came within spitting distance, back in the golden age of steam, of
having a railway station in what is now the middle of town. Fortunately
it never got built and we have the University Parks. As a result the
railway station is just a little further out of town than the bus station.
That's until the expansion plan forces the railway station to move further
out of town, to the old wharf, because the derelict sidings have now been
built on. (Oxford needs more housing, so we build flats for commuters to
move here from London, and who have to live within walking distance of the
station...)

The bus station has already been hemmed in by my-flat-is-more-unaffordable-
-than-yours flats and estate agents' offices that it is sufficiently
cramped that the coach services are in danger of being moved out to the
coach park. The coaches have to carry bicycles because soon you will need
a bike to get from Oxford to Oxford coach station.

"Simon Brooke" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

in message <[email hidden]>, Just zis Guy, you know?

(') said:

Simon Brooke said:

You apparently can't (officially) book a bike on a virgin train at
anywhere but the station of departure. You can't do it on the Web.
You can't do it on the phone.

If so that has changed in the last couple of months since I last
booked mine by phone.

That's what Virgin's telesales people said this morning. However, see my
other followup, the station booking clerk told us that she was not able
to make a bicycle reservation at all - it had to be done through
telesales. So it seems that the front-line staff at both ends - on the
telephone and on the stations - have been instructed not to issue bike
bookings.

If you can do it on the Web (and for heavens' sake you surely ought to
be able to do it on the Web), I'd be grateful if someone would point
out where.

This sounds quite familiar to me. Last summer Virgin's telesales people
wouldn't let me book a bike on one of their trains. I could book me but not
the bike which had to be booked at the place I bought the ticket. The
journey started in Holyhead and finished at Penzance so 3 train companies
were involved and the train ticket was combined with a ferry ticket. The
other 2 train companies had no problem (something Northern and Great
Western?) but the middle section Virgin wouldn't do. And this was about 8-10
weeks in advance. In the end I phoned their customer service/complaints line
and the person at the end of that line booked the bike on in about 3 seconds
without a murmour of protest. It was alot of unnecessary hassle though (and
expense - phoning abroad) and they claimed they were technically unable to
send me confirmation of the reservation because the customer service dept.
and ticketing dept. ran totally different computer systems - slightly
implausible I thought. So right up to boarding the train I was a bit nervous
as to whether I'd be able to travel or not.
And then I got on and had to hang my poor bike by its rim in a cubby hole.

tony R.

Clive George said:

"Geraint Jones"
<[email hidden]> wrote in
message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Jon Senior <jon@restlesslemon_DOT_co_DOT_uk.remove> wrote:
( The only
GNER ) trains that actually have a 3 bike restriction are the HSTs
(Not sure ( what this is... just remember getting on one once!).

The HSTs are the diesel (ans subsequently electric) loco-hauled
trains that were introduced at Modernisation. I'm sure some other
anorak will correct me, but I think the "high speed" bit of high
speed train refers to the capability of achieving 90mph in service.

I always thought HST were the 125mph ones. (the original pointy ones,
all diesel).

cheers,
clive

Yup HST is the anoraks name for InterCity 125

Simon Brooke wrote:
, Dave, I can't do that.

Quoted message said:

You apparently can't (officially) book a bike on a virgin train at
anywhere but the station of departure. You can't do it on the Web. You
can't do it on the phone. And you also can't do it at all, apparently,
on the day of travel, because 'bookings have already closed'. No
apologies, no attempt to be helpful. My niece, who has worked in the
past as a call-centre droid, didn't shout at her. It wouldn't have
done any good.

A few months ago I booked me & my bike on a Virgin train from Leeds to
Berwick-upon-Tweed. I made the booking at Sheffield station.

MSeries [email hidden] opined the following...

Quoted message said:

Yup HST is the anoraks name for InterCity 125

But I'm sure I've caught 125s that had a "normal" guard's van, not the
funny little 3 bike hanging box.

Jon

On Mon, 12 Jul 2004 20:18:18 +0100, Jon Senior
<jon_AT_restlesslemon_DOTco_DOT_uk> wrote in message
<[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

But I'm sure I've caught 125s that had a "normal" guard's van, not the
funny little 3 bike hanging box.

That would be right, yes. HSTs (class 43 or the "125"😉 have guards'
vans. They are mainly seen on FGW and GNER I think.

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University

Just zis Guy, you know? [email hidden] opined the
following...

Quoted message said:

That would be right, yes. HSTs (class 43 or the "125"😉 have guards'
vans. They are mainly seen on FGW and GNER I think.

But it was an HST that had my bike hanging up off a hook.

Confused in Edinburgh.