Eurostar's EuroDespatch... do I still need to dismantle??

[StuAff]

At a slight tangent here ... from a couple of tentative enquiries it looks as if the Dover-Calais ferries have increased the fares for cyclists next year .... whether that's an opportunistic action is open to conjecture ...

Rob

DFDS still quoting £20 each way, to both Calais and Dunkerque.

 

[robgul]

DFDS still quoting £20 each way, to both Calais and Dunkerque.

... I'm not certain, but I seem to remember being quoted £16 last year? . . although we actually used the (previously) excellent wheel-it-up-to the-office Eurostar service from London to Paris and Brussels to London.

Rob

 

[StuAff]

... I'm not certain, but I seem to remember being quoted £16 last year? . . although we actually used the (previously) excellent wheel-it-up-to the-office Eurostar service from London to Paris and Brussels to London.

Rob

I paid £20 each way last year...

 

[toffee]

Looks like Eurostar have changed their minds.

http://www.ctc.org.uk/news/20151113-ctc-wot-won

Ironically I booked our train back from Paris last night. I was going to have to take the rack off Mrs T's bike to get it in the box before their change of mind.

Derek

 

[night cycler]

Yes, there`s a bit here about the U turn. This is the latest update 14th Nov 2015
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34815867

Also, this article looks quite interesting and informative for anyone taking the bike on the train around Europe.>
http://www.seat61.com/bike-by-train.htm

 

[toffee]

Think we have been celebrating too soon. I have just had this in an email from Euro Dispatch this morning regarding my booking in March.

"To guarantee your bike onto a specific train it will need to be in a bike bag or box. We can still accept fully assembled bikes for the 24 hour service."

Looks like I still need to take some tools with me.

Derek

 

[jefmcg]

"To guarantee your bike onto a specific train it will need to be in a bike bag or box. We can still accept fully assembled bikes for the 24 hour service."

Yup, that seems to be their policy

http://www.eurostar.com/uk-en/travel-info/travel-planning/luggage/bikes

• You can put your bike in a padded bike bag or bike box. We can provide a box for you, which is included in the service price and this is the best option for protecting your bike.
• If you’d prefer to keep your bike fully assembled, Eurodespatch has a limited number of spaces per train, so you’ll need to call us for availability

I suspect they are planning to have the bike hanging racks on some trains, and keep them full.

 

[robgul]

I posted a comment on the CTC Forum about the "new policy" - I'm told that it's all to do with the new rolling stock that's being phased in from early 2016 - the new stuff has limited/less freight space - the old trains, obviously being phased out, have the hanging spaces for assembled bikes. My money is on "box only" being the future.

Rob

 

[snorri]

Also, this article looks quite interesting and informative for anyone taking the bike on the train around Europe.>
http://www.seat61.com/bike-by-train.htm

Where could he start? My own fairly modest experiences of trains in mainland Europe could just about burst the capacity of the internet.

 

[jefmcg]

Where could he start? My own fairly modest experiences of trains in mainland Europe could just about burst the capacity of the internet.

You know more about trains than the total quantity of porn on the internet? Wow.

 

[StuAff]

Well,
I emailed yesterday about taking a fully assembled bike to Brussels in April, and got a reply saying they had two spaces for fully assembled bikes on my train of choice. Rang up this morning, did the ticket booking online/bike booking on phone combo, and it's all done. Fingers crossed it stays that way.....

 

[StuartG]

My money is on "brompton only" being the future.

FTFY