Bike on train from Soton to Reading



M

Mark

Guest
Hi there

Does anyone know if the trains from Southampton to Reading (SWT I
believe) will accept bikes? For next time, where do I look?

I might need to get from Southampton to Theale each day. I don't have a
car so I'm considering cycling to the station (~4 miles), putting the
bike on the train and then riding from Reading.

Cheers,

Mark
 
"Mark" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi there
>
> Does anyone know if the trains from Southampton to Reading (SWT I
> believe) will accept bikes? For next time, where do I look?
>
> I might need to get from Southampton to Theale each day. I don't have a
> car so I'm considering cycling to the station (~4 miles), putting the
> bike on the train and then riding from Reading.
>

Rush hour?

According to nationalrail.co.uk It's an hour using virgin from Southampton
Central to Reading, then 8 minutes on Great Western Link to Theale.
 
On Wed, 05 Oct 2005 09:54:57 -0000 someone who may be Mark
<[email protected]> wrote this:-

>Does anyone know if the trains from Southampton to Reading (SWT I
>believe) will accept bikes?

No idea.

>For next time, where do I look?

http://www.atob.org.uk/Bike_Rail.html is one place.



--
David Hansen, Edinburgh | PGP email preferred-key number F566DA0E
I will always explain revoked keys, unless the UK government
prevents me by using the RIP Act 2000.
 
It can be done by Virgin, or SWT (or SWT and FGWL, change at
Basingstoke). If you know your journey time in advance I'd suggest
Virgin as you can reserve their bike spaces. On most SWT trains & on
FGW they are unreserved so you risk being turned away if the bike bay
is already full.
SWT's diesel units also have very small bike bays which can only hold
unladen machines: my wife & I are cycle campers and have to strip all
panniers, tents, etc, off our bikes when using the Exeter - Waterloo
line. Virgin stock has more space.

Jon
 
Mark wrote:
>
> Hi there
>
> Does anyone know if the trains from Southampton to Reading (SWT I
> believe) will accept bikes? For next time, where do I look?
>
> I might need to get from Southampton to Theale each day. I don't have a
> car so I'm considering cycling to the station (~4 miles), putting the
> bike on the train and then riding from Reading.

You should have no problems.
I use these routes regularly, usually 2/3 times a week.

Take the FGW Link between Reading and Basingstoke. The bike remains in
the vestibule with you as there is no dedicated space. There are no
bookings. They can become a bit crowded at times.
You arrive at platform five.
Cross to Platform 1 for the SWT trains to Southampton. The new trains
always have plenty of easily accessible bike space and seem to run on time.
The doors are marked with bicycles.
Try and avoid catching the Weymouth bound trains which are usually
Wessex Electrics. These usually go from platform 2 and have 5/10 hanging
bike spaces. They are a bit of a faff to get the bikes into.
None of these trains require reservations.

There are direct services run by Virgin. Avoid these. They very rarely
seem to run on time through Basingstoke and they do require reservations
in advance.

Don't worry, you should be fine.

John B
 
[email protected] wrote:
>
> It can be done by Virgin, or SWT (or SWT and FGWL, change at
> Basingstoke). If you know your journey time in advance I'd suggest
> Virgin as you can reserve their bike spaces. On most SWT trains & on
> FGW they are unreserved so you risk being turned away if the bike bay
> is already full.

Being turned away is extremely rare. I've been using these services for
much of this year and it hasn't happened yet.
Even if it did the service is fairly regular so there is not a long wait.
IMO using Virgin on the this line for a work journey is just too unreliable.

> SWT's diesel units also have very small bike bays which can only hold
> unladen machines: my wife & I are cycle campers and have to strip all
> panniers, tents, etc, off our bikes when using the Exeter - Waterloo
> line.

These trains are not used on the line to Southampton where the OP wants
to go to.

John B
 
On Wed, 05 Oct 2005 09:54:57 -0000, Mark
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Hi there
>
>Does anyone know if the trains from Southampton to Reading (SWT I
>believe) will accept bikes? For next time, where do I look?
>
>I might need to get from Southampton to Theale each day. I don't have a
>car so I'm considering cycling to the station (~4 miles), putting the
>bike on the train and then riding from Reading.
>
>Cheers,
>
>Mark
One small point to add what others have said. If the N-bound train
you're on stops at Reading West, it's slightly closer to Theale for
cycling; also may be quicker if taking train to Theale, depending on
connections (check timetable). Obviously vice-versa for S-bound
journey

--

John
 
On 2005-10-05, John B <[email protected]> wrote:
> Mark wrote:
>> Does anyone know if the trains from Southampton to Reading (SWT I
>> believe) will accept bikes? For next time, where do I look?
>>
>> I might need to get from Southampton to Theale each day. I don't have
>> a car so I'm considering cycling to the station (~4 miles), putting
>> the bike on the train and then riding from Reading.
>
> You should have no problems. I use these routes regularly, usually
> 2/3 times a week.
>
> Take the FGW Link between Reading and Basingstoke. The bike remains in
> the vestibule with you as there is no dedicated space. There are no
> bookings. They can become a bit crowded at times. You arrive at
> platform five. Cross to Platform 1 for the SWT trains to Southampton.
> The new trains always have plenty of easily accessible bike space and
> seem to run on time. The doors are marked with bicycles. Try and
> avoid catching the Weymouth bound trains which are usually Wessex
> Electrics. These usually go from platform 2 and have 5/10 hanging bike
> spaces. They are a bit of a faff to get the bikes into. None of these
> trains require reservations.
>
> There are direct services run by Virgin. Avoid these. They very rarely
> seem to run on time through Basingstoke and they do require
> reservations in advance.
>
> Don't worry, you should be fine.

That's perfect, thanks for the detailled advice. On the face of it at
least it seems that taking the train/bike is only about £20 a month more
expensive that petrol costs alone. It takes a little longer, though; to
get to Theale ar around 8.30am I'll have to catch the 6.56am train,
though I suppose if I was to drive I'd have to leave at 7ish..

Thanks again,

Mark
 
Mark wrote:
> On 2005-10-05, John B <[email protected]> wrote:
> > Mark wrote:
> >> Does anyone know if the trains from Southampton to Reading (SWT I
> >> believe) will accept bikes? For next time, where do I look?
> >>
> >> I might need to get from Southampton to Theale each day. I don't have
> >> a car so I'm considering cycling to the station (~4 miles), putting
> >> the bike on the train and then riding from Reading.
> >
> > You should have no problems. I use these routes regularly, usually
> > 2/3 times a week.
> >
> > Take the FGW Link between Reading and Basingstoke. The bike remains in
> > the vestibule with you as there is no dedicated space. There are no
> > bookings. They can become a bit crowded at times. You arrive at
> > platform five. Cross to Platform 1 for the SWT trains to Southampton.
> > The new trains always have plenty of easily accessible bike space and
> > seem to run on time. The doors are marked with bicycles. Try and
> > avoid catching the Weymouth bound trains which are usually Wessex
> > Electrics. These usually go from platform 2 and have 5/10 hanging bike
> > spaces. They are a bit of a faff to get the bikes into. None of these
> > trains require reservations.
> >
> > There are direct services run by Virgin. Avoid these. They very rarely
> > seem to run on time through Basingstoke and they do require
> > reservations in advance.
> >
> > Don't worry, you should be fine.
>
> That's perfect, thanks for the detailled advice. On the face of it at
> least it seems that taking the train/bike is only about £20 a month more
> expensive that petrol costs alone. It takes a little longer, though; to
> get to Theale ar around 8.30am I'll have to catch the 6.56am train,
> though I suppose if I was to drive I'd have to leave at 7ish..
>
> Thanks again,
>
> Mark

If you use the Reading-Basingstoke link it may be worth getting off at
Mortimer and cycling the rest of the way to Theale - it's about the
same distance as from Theale to Reading station, but on quiet roads
instead of the A4.
 
Ambrose Nankivell wrote:
>
> "Simon Brooke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > in message <[email protected]>, Mark
> > ('[email protected]') wrote:
> >
> >>> There are services run by Virgin. Avoid these.
> >
> > Excellent advice.
>
> **** advice, in general. I've no idea what it's like in the specific.

The Virgin trains heading south from Basingstoke seem to regularly be 30
or so minutes late.
Sometimes they just get to Basingstoke and go no further. They are so
late they cannot complete their journey.
That, coupled with the faff of not knowing which end the bike space will
be [1] and the large number of easier and less crowded alternatives is a
good enough reason to avoid them.

[1] yes I know the trick about the yellow buffer.

John B
 
"Ambrose Nankivell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Simon Brooke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> in message <[email protected]>, Mark
>> ('[email protected]') wrote:
>>
>>>> There are services run by Virgin. Avoid these.
>>
>> Excellent advice.
>
> **** advice, in general. I've no idea what it's like in the specific.
>
> --
> Ambrose

Bit unfair to slap someone down, without offering a better alternative
yourself, no?

--
IanH
 
>
> Bit unfair to slap someone down, without offering a better alternative
> yourself, no?
>
> --
> IanH

Now now children. A good place to look for bikes on trains advice is
http://www.atob.org.uk/Bike_Rail.html (It's a great mag too)

Could be that the experience of those who use Virgin West Coast is
different from those who use Virgin Cross-Country.

Simon
 
ian henden wrote:
> "Ambrose Nankivell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> "Simon Brooke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>>> in message <[email protected]>, Mark
>>> ('[email protected]') wrote:
>>>
>>>>> There are services run by Virgin. Avoid these.
>>>
>>> Excellent advice.
>>
>> **** advice, in general. I've no idea what it's like in the specific.
>>
>
> Bit unfair to slap someone down, without offering a better alternative
> yourself, no?

Well, Simon Brooke was saying never to travel by Virgin, and I was
suggesting that in general, there is no problem travelling by Virgin trains,
even if it's not the best option to use to travel from Soton to Reading.

Although I did express it obliquely, so it's fair enough that that wasn't
clear.


--
Ambrose
 
in message <[email protected]>, Ambrose Nankivell
('[email protected]') wrote:

> ian henden wrote:
>> "Ambrose Nankivell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>>> "Simon Brooke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>> news:[email protected]...
>>>> in message <[email protected]>, Mark
>>>> ('[email protected]') wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>> There are services run by Virgin. Avoid these.
>>>>
>>>> Excellent advice.
>>>
>>> **** advice, in general. I've no idea what it's like in the specific.
>>
>> Bit unfair to slap someone down, without offering a better alternative
>> yourself, no?
>
> Well, Simon Brooke was saying never to travel by Virgin, and I was
> suggesting that in general, there is no problem travelling by Virgin
> trains, even if it's not the best option to use to travel from Soton to
> Reading.

Dear, dear, dear. I'll have to learn to use smileys.

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

'there are no solutions, only precipitates'
 
Simon Brooke wrote:

> > Well, Simon Brooke was saying never to travel by Virgin, and I was
> > suggesting that in general, there is no problem travelling by Virgin
> > trains, even if it's not the best option to use to travel from Soton to
> > Reading.
>
> Dear, dear, dear. I'll have to learn to use smileys.

No, no, no - people will think you're from Norrrfolk ;-)

John B
 
Simon Brooke wrote:
> in message <[email protected]>, Ambrose Nankivell
> ('[email protected]') wrote:
>
>> Well, Simon Brooke was saying never to travel by Virgin, and I was
>> suggesting that in general, there is no problem travelling by Virgin
>> trains, even if it's not the best option to use to travel from Soton
>> to Reading.
>
> Dear, dear, dear. I'll have to learn to use smileys.

I'll draft an RFC on the communication and marking of humorous, sarcastic
and ironic comments in electronic communications, and that'll make it a
whole lot easier for you to learn. :)

--
Ambrose
 
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