St Pancras/Eurostar, poor cycle provision

[Pete]

Don't know if this has already been posted elsewhere. Also I am indebted to the guys on ACF for the link and a number of comments.

Any thoughts? Personally this doesn't affect me, I've rather given up on the trains anyway as a means of getting to France, neither fast, efficient nor comfortable. Anyway we don't transport our bikes to our holiday home in France, we keep bikes down there...

But I still think it's a disgrace and an insult to my fellow cyclists: shows that cyclists effectively have last-class citizenship whenever some important public service is being implemented.

 

[TheDoctor]

Must admit, if I was taking a bike to St Pancras it would be in a bag to take on Eurostar. It's weird how Eurostar can't cope with a fully assembled bike. GNER did when they leased a few Eurostar sets a few years ago...

 

[Danny]

This is disappointing. I had a look at St Pancras yesterday and overall it looked pretty impressive, but as I was on foot I didn't think to check out the cycle facilities.

Even Kings X has got better cycle racks than the ones shown in Pete's link.

 

[domd1979]

Eh? Door to door Eurostar is extremely competitive on journey time versus air. I'd say it is fast, efficient, and comfortable.

I've rather given up on the trains anyway as a means of getting to France, neither fast, efficient nor comfortable

 

[wafflycat]

I'm using Eurostar in the near future. But bike does not figure in the journey on the occasion.

 

[marinyork]

Not surprised, been through St Pancras several times during the last year or so whilst they were rebuilding/restructuring it. It was extremely pedestrian/standard train user unfriendly with not enough seats or silly windy routes. They could have had bicycle racks at their silly new bit at the front or on the platforms but they would have been difficult to get to.

 

[simon l& and a half]

the really odd bit is the tortuous exit from the train, down ramps, past desks that might once have had immigration officials behind them, through a deserted customs hall, and then out to the windy side to wait for a taxi. At the Gare du Nord you simply walk off the platform.

 

[orbiter]

Read more about cyclists & St Pancras at Camden Cycling Campaign - http://tinyurl.com/33x9cm

Pete

 

[simon l& and a half]

I should have mentioned this earlier, but you might like to know that Dave Holladay of the CTC is all over Eurostar like a rash, holding them to account on promises made about check-in times for bicycles and so on and so forth. Dave makes the same point to every rail operator - cycle parking sells rail tickets.