Online booking of bike spaces on trains.

[PaulSB]

It's certainly true there's a huge amount of disruption due to engineering works though I don't know about the areas you mentioned. Living near Chorley I use the Preston - Manchester line quite often. It's been a nightmare for a long time while the track was electrified, especially at weekends. This was completed on November 4th.

The disruption Preston to Manchester is only with Northern and Transpennine, usually the better faster option, is operating normally. There is also the option to go via Wigan to Manchester with Transpennine. Journey time is similar.

I haven't examined the T&C's for trainsplit at all but it's not unusual for cheap tickets to have restrictions however they are booked.

Have fun if you go.

 

[mustang1]

No need to get hissy fitty about bikes and cyclists.

We were phoning to book Room & Table at a Restaurant with Rooms a while ago, just as the proprietor was about to write in in the diary, he asked us to hang on a moment while he checked Intenet Bookings, just to be sure the room had not been booked on-line while we were on the phone "It happens", he said.

Multiple booking channels for limited spaces = problems

I booked a hotel room thru a popular online booking (pun INTENDED) website and was advised I could get a refund if I change my mind. After pressing Reserve, I got an email saying I no longer had the right to cancel. I think that's the last time I will make a booking (pun INTENDED). I've always preferred Expedia anyway .

 

[booze and cake]

Bikes on trains is a total joke in this country, its actually embarrassing how bad it is, any cycle tourists from Europe must feel they are travelling through the Dark Ages.

I wrote to Virgin and complained that you could not do online bookings for bikes back in April 2014, and that it was a surely a simple thing to implement. They wrote back and agreed it was a gap in their system and they sent me a £50 voucher for my woes. 4 and a half years later and they have still not done nothing about it. Useless.

I hate trains in the UK, because my experience of using them is far too often negative. Privatisation of the network has been a complete disaster.

 

[NorthernDave]

[QUOTE 5444143, member: 9609"]
Seriously - if you split the journey its cheaper ?
what a piece of crap our rail system is. (not just the rail the whole country is)
[/QUOTE]

Yep - I was at a work thing in Birmingham this week and needed to get a train home on Wednesday morning (I'd got a lift there from a colleague).
The hotel I was stopping in was a 10 minute walk from Birmingham International and I'd need to get a train from there to Birmingham New Street, then a second train from there to Leeds.

Through the Cross Country (XC) website it was just shy of £70 for a standard class advance ticket and no matter what permutation of times I entered it insisted on booking me on specific trains that only had a 10 minute connection in Brum.

So I booked two separate tickets for each leg of the journey, including an 'anytime' ticket for the first leg meaning I could catch any train (trains into New Street from International are every 10 minutes or so) and leave ample connection time and a first class ticket advance for the second leg for £39.
If I'd been prepared to travel cattle, sorry standard, class on the second leg that would have reduced to £31, but I thought the extra few quid worth it for better seats, free wi-fi and free food and drink delivered to my seat on demand.

 

[robjh]

...Even better, it's virtually impossible to reserve a bike space and reserve a seat in the same carriage - their booking system will insist on seating you at the opposite end of the train...

I ignore the assigned seat number, and sit near the bike. I've never seen seat numbers checked against the tickets, and in the very rare case that someone has a reservation for the seat I'm in and asks me to move then I do so.

 

[Blue Hills]

I book through the Hull Trains website, which does accept online bike reservations.

For other companies as well?
East and west coast mainline?

 

[Blue Hills]

. Since they all quote the same fares,

Not true unfortunately. Virgin west coast periodically do special offer fares which are only available through their own web site, where of course you can't book bikes. Won't bore you with the hoops I have to jump through to get these fairs with a bike. Appalling. And a real pity as once the bike is booked Virgin west coast is my favourite way to go. Nice bike storage, access to the area during the journey, usually excellent ataff. Take a bow colin at preston station.

 

[Brandane]

Northern, on the rare occasions that they actually run trains, currently have a first come first served system and I've never seen anyone refused travel although it remains a possibility depending on staff attitude (which is normally sensible). There are persistent rumours that this will change soon though.

Are they going on a RyanAir customer services course?

 

[Blue Hills]

+ 1 to northern's current bike policy.

If they change this, will probably abandon them.

 

[Blue Hills]

I just tried that journey for you using my "train split" app. Obviously I could only do a random off peak journey. Catch the 10.45 from Lancaster on Monday of next week. The cost is £28.41.

https://www.trainsplit.com

I recently used this to book a return from Preston to Oban for £36. Couldn't buy the petrol for that.

On the bike space issue I know it raises people's blood pressure but my experience is generally the situation is not so difficult. Some companies have online chat facilities which work very well - I was once in Greece using online chat to book cycle reservations with Virgin - very easy. Secondly try phoning at a quiet time, I find 8.00pm onwards good, and in my experience one will usually encounter helpful and polite staff who will make booking for you.

Can you book bike places for all the hops on that app?

You have had better experience than me with virgin call centres. Have had some appalling experiences. Incompetent poorly trained non empowered staff in india who have twice screwed up bike bookings and very nearly left me with useless tickets for my arse sans bike. These days, though it takes ages I only trust a person behind a counter who can hand me the paper reservations on the spot. Of course I have to persuade them to give me a bike reservation without me at that point having a ticket to travel.
Sorry, that is my experience.
And they don't care. Any feedback/complaint on the issue just receives a reply full of marketing management speak cuddly excrement.

 

[Bazzer]

Bikes on trains is a total joke in this country, its actually embarrassing how bad it is, any cycle tourists from Europe must feel they are travelling through the Dark Ages.

I wrote to Virgin and complained that you could not do online bookings for bikes back in April 2014, and that it was a surely a simple thing to implement. They wrote back and agreed it was a gap in their system and they sent me a £50 voucher for my woes. 4 and a half years later and they have still not done nothing about it. Useless.

I hate trains in the UK, because my experience of using them is far too often negative. Privatisation of the network has been a complete disaster.

From my experience with Virgin West Coast, whilst I would prefer to online book my bike with Virgin at the same time as a seat, personally I have found the Virgin staff, both in the booking system and on the trains and platforms to be excellent. Indeed, I don't think online you can specify the carriage, i.e the one closest to my bike, whereas with the telephone service you can. I also feel my bike is safer with Virgin, but that may be my personal perception.
The number of bikes accommodated by Virgin may be limited, but I think Northern & Trans Pennine Express could take a leaf from Virgin's books. Speaking to staff face to face whilst trying to book a seat and bike on Northern or TPE, is IME an exercise in testing patience.

 

[ColinJ]

[QUOTE 5444143, member: 9609"]Seriously - if you split the journey its cheaper ?
what a piece of crap our rail system is. (not just the rail the whole country is)[/QUOTE]
Yes. And yes!

I once saved £20 on a return trip to Coventry from Hebden Bridge via Leeds by booking 5 tickets each way!

It gets worse... As I mentioned elsewhere a couple of days ago - it isn't enough for the trains you catch to travel via the stations that you split at, they also must stop at those stations! It means that you can't use the tickets on many express trains that whiz through minor stations even if they are Anytime tickets!

For other companies as well?
East and west coast mainline?

Yes. I have used them for Cross Country on the West line and Transpennine elsewhere. It seems that they can all book each others tickets.

 

[classic33]

Northern, on the rare occasions that they actually run trains, currently have a first come first served system and I've never seen anyone refused travel although it remains a possibility depending on staff attitude (which is normally sensible). There are persistent rumours that this will change soon though.

Trans Pennine Express insist on a reservation at least 24 hours before. Even better, it's virtually impossible to reserve a bike space and reserve a seat in the same carriage - their booking system will insist on seating you at the opposite end of the train...

Northerns new rolling stock is sat in Liverpool with brake problems. They've found the brakes don't work. That's on those units whose fire issues have been sorted out on, all 31 of them.

They've taken over a few TPE routes in recent months as well, from First.

 

[Blue Hills]

Yes. I have used them for Cross Country on the West line and Transpennine elsewhere. It seems that they can all book each others tickets.

ah, ok, like one or two other sites.

As per my other post I am pretty sure they won't offer Virgin West Coast's best fares when they do their periodic offers.

Have checked in the past.

 

[Blue Hills]

From my experience with Virgin West Coast, whilst I would prefer to online book my bike with Virgin at the same time as a seat, personally I have found the Virgin staff, both in the booking system and on the trains and platforms to be excellent. Indeed, I don't think online you can specify the carriage, i.e the one closest to my bike, whereas with the telephone service you can. I also feel my bike is safer with Virgin, but that may be my personal perception.
The number of bikes accommodated by Virgin may be limited, but I think Northern & Trans Pennine Express could take a leaf from Virgin's books. Speaking to staff face to face whilst trying to book a seat and bike on Northern or TPE, is IME an exercise in testing patience.

Agree totally about platform and train staff. They are great. But my other criticisms stand. Or have they brought the call centre operation back to the UK with properly trained staff?

With regard to seating, pretty sure you can specify the seat online (or am I thinking of East Coast?) - whatever, in practice I usually find that there are seats free near the bike storage area so despite often having booked a table seat I often plonk myself there. Handy for popping through the door at stations to check that nothing untoward is happening to your bike. Sometimes there are reserved labels on these "airline" seats but no occupants - I assume the folk have moved to somewhere they find more comfortable away from the bike louts.

East Coast can be a pain - very often a mega gap between the platform and the bike storage area. A real problem, bordering on dangerous, particularly if with a loaded tourer.

An East coast person one accused me of making their train late because of my bike loading and when we hit London brought a more senior chap along to hurry me off the train! Incredible. I didn't make the train late at all - it was late on arrival at Peterborough. They made me feel as if I'd just crapped on one of their seats.