Bikes on Aviva Wales trains

[Danny]

Three of us are planning a tour through Wales this summer starting in Hereford and finishing in Bangor. However the Aviva Wales website says they only allow two bikes to be booked on each train.

Has anyone got any experience of how flexible the Aviva guards are likely to be if we book reservations for two bikes and turn up with a third?

And are the trains from Bangor likely to be packed with holiday makers in the summer?

 

[TheDoctor]

Having travelled on these trains before, you'll be lucky to get a bike on them.
They have a space for bikes, but it's also the space for wheelchairs, and a convenient dumping ground for luggage.

 

[upsidedown]

I used the Wolverhampton to Aberdovey train last year. There's a separate little section for bikes which will take two at a push. I went during the week in term time and it was almost empty so can't see there being a problem storing it by the doors if you do the same.

 

[vernon]

Has anyone got any experience of how flexible the Aviva guards are likely to be if we book reservations for two bikes and turn up with a third?

Depending on the guards' good will is always a lottery as there's no guarantee that you will get an affable one.

Can you not find a couple of trains separated by an hour or so and book those for piece of mind?

 

[srw]

If the train you want meets the Dublin-Holyhead ferry it will be packed. If not, it won't be.

At least that's the impression I got based on a few trips out there.

 

[Danny]

Depending on the guards' good will is always a lottery as there's no guarantee that you will get an affable one.

Can you not find a couple of trains separated by an hour or so and book those for piece of mind?

Sounds like that is what we are going to have to do.

 

[robjh]

I've taken my bike on the Bangor-Chester-Crewe route several times - I imagine that is the route you're thinking of? - and have got on board my chosen train every time, even when it was really busy at the end of a warm summer Sunday. I've also seen at least 3 bikes being accepted.
It can get rather awkward with a bike in those circumstances, but as long as there is physical space somewhere, my impression is that you are unlikely in reality to be turned away. Of course, this is an impression and there is no guarantee...

A lot of the trains however are not that crowded, and if you can avoid hot Sunday evenings and boat-trains, then my hunch is that you will have no problem.

 

[lejogger]

We recently took two bikes from Chester to Holyhead and back again when we toured Ireland.

From Chester to Holyhead it was a piece of cake. We managed to phone Aviva and make sure that the bikes were booked on the train. We had a reference number. The lady on the station at Chester was amazing, tidying up all the suitcases that were strewn everywhere in the bike section and helping us hang the bikes. On this particular train there were 4 hooks to take 4 bikes hanging from their front wheels.

Be warned though, when we booked online there was nowhere to book the bikes. When we asked at the local train station they had no way of booking them and advised us to just turn up. They even phoned Aviva and they said to just turn up. However I phoned the call centre myself and spoke to a very helpful chap who I assumed was in a far flung asian call centre, but he managed to book us on. It was a relief to know we were definitely going to get them on.

The return wasn't as easy. We hadn't booked this train, and the layout of the carriage was different. Instead of the hanging hooks, there was just a space to strap them inside the main carriage. Everyone then piled up their luggage around them, and getting off at Chester with them was a complete nightmare as there were hoardes of people trying to get off behind us and on in front of us, while we tried to get bikes, panniers, tents and sleeping bags out. There was another bike on at the same time, but it was a folding one. I'd definitely try to book just for peace of mind.

If you're not getting off at the end of the line it may be a stressful experience.

 

[andym]

Be warned though, when we booked online there was nowhere to book the bikes. When we asked at the local train station they had no way of booking them and advised us to just turn up. They even phoned Aviva and they said to just turn up. However I phoned the call centre myself and spoke to a very helpful chap who I assumed was in a far flung asian call centre, but he managed to book us on. It was a relief to know we were definitely going to get them on.

If you use the eastcoast.co.uk site you can book bike places even on other companies' trains.

 

[Danny]

robjh - your experience is encouraging. We were definitely not planning to travel on Sunday, but from memory other days can be busy in summer.

lejogger - sounds like we should definitely try and avoid the boat trains. But again it is encouraging to know that some trains have room for 4 bikes.

andym - I can also vouch for the Eastcoast online booking system. The only limitation is that you get no feedback when it rejects a bike reservation, so you can't tell whether all the bike spaces on the train your after have been booked or whether it just happens to be a train where no reservations are required.

 

[vernon]

If you use the eastcoast.co.uk site you can book bike places even on other companies' trains.

You can only book bike places if the other train operating company allows bookings to take place. It has caused me a few anxious moments when I'd booked journeys with cycle reservations only to find that part of the journey was not covered by the reservations because the train operating company operating over that stretch didn't do bookings. South West Trains springs to mind from Waterloo to Portsmouth. SW trains are very clear at saying when bikes are not allowed on their trains but do little to help cyclists have a stress free journey knowing that their bike reservation will take them to their final destination.

Northern Trains on the other hand are very laissez faire and will tolerate more bikes than any other train company without having to reserve a place.

 

[mcshroom]

I used the Manchester to Swansea train for the FNRttC last month. There's precious little space for bikes on the train but as long as you can get it stuck in a hole somewhere then the guards were perfectly happy.

On the way home I actually travelled from Swansea to Cardiff crammed into a doorway with the bike up on its back wheel as there was a big rugby crowd on the train, again the station staff were happy enough

They need a lot more doors on those things though

 

[mcshroom]

If you use the eastcoast.co.uk site you can book bike places even on other companies' trains.

Also available on Chiltern and Southern. They don't charge you a booking fee on ticket purchases either

 

[andym]

andym - I can also vouch for the Eastcoast online booking system. The only limitation is that you get no feedback when it rejects a bike reservation, so you can't tell whether all the bike spaces on the train your after have been booked or whether it just happens to be a train where no reservations are required.

The very thing has just happened to me. A bit annoying, but you can get it to save the reservations while you research the gaps. Yes it's a pain, but most pf the time it's a definite timesaver.

 

[andym]

You can only book bike places if the other train operating company allows bookings to take place. It has caused me a few anxious moments when I'd booked journeys with cycle reservations only to find that part of the journey was not covered by the reservations because the train operating company operating over that stretch didn't do bookings.

In fairness to East Coast mainline (and the chiltern guys?). The system does tell you before you reach the payment screen which legs of the journey you have bike reservations for - what it doesn't tell you, as someone else pointrd out, is the reason why there's no reservation for a particular bit.