Train company Southern has issued a reminder to cyclists about its ban on bikes on the day of the London to Brighton Bike Ride.
The ban affects all cyclists – not just those taking part in Britain’s biggest charity bike ride – next Sunday (15 June).
The annual bike ride is organised by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and attracts between 25,000 and 30,000 riders each year.
A fleet of lorries is laid on by the BHF to take bikes back for weary riders.
Southern said: “For the safety and comfort of passengers using Southern and First Capital Connect train services on the weekend of the London to Brighton ride, there will be cycle restrictions in place.”
On the day of the ride, Southern said: “Because of the large number of bicycles involved, passengers will not be able to board Southern services with a non-folding cycle at any Southern station from the start of service until noon.
“After noon they will be able to board with bicycles north of Gatwick Airport, east of Pevensey and Westham and west of Fishbourne stations but will not be able to take their bikes to stations that carry an all-day ban.”
A Southern network map showing where the restrictions are can be found at http://www.southernrailway.com/your-journey/cycle-policy/bike-ride.
First Capital Connect will be operating an identical ban on Sunday.
Southern also warned of queues and delays for cyclists on Saturday (14 June) and Monday (16 June).
The company said: “Passengers travelling on train services from Brighton with cycles may experience delays as these services can only hold a limited number of cycles. A queuing system will be in place for the day.”
It added that normal peak-time restrictions would apply on Monday morning. To see these, visit southernrailway.com/cyclepolicy.
27000 potential customers turned away. Well done Southern.
27000 potential customers turned away. Well done Southern.
Typical clueless reaction from the official Green Party spokesman.
So how many extra trains would be needed to be laid on to transport the 27000 extra riders and take their bicycles (at no charge) and what would be the effect on other rail passengers?
Do you think it would be cost effective for the rail companies (remember economics isnot a strong point for the Greens)?
Or is this just the Greens implying that the rail companies are not serving the needs of the people and should be re-nationalised (part of the Green Party manifesto)?
What a wretched little political party having to resort to such tactics!
Typical clueless reaction from the official Green Party spokesman.
So how many extra trains would be needed to be laid on to transport the 27000 extra riders and take their bicycles (at no charge) and what would be the effect on other rail passengers?
Do you think it would be cost effective for the rail companies (remember economics isnot a strong point for the Greens)?
Or is this just the Greens implying that the rail companies are not serving the needs of the people and should be re-nationalised (part of the Green Party manifesto)?
What a wretched little political party having to resort to such tactics!
renationalising the train services would be a return to British Rail.. BR was bloody uselss, awful at best!
renationalising the train services would be a return to British Rail.. BR was bloody uselss, awful at best!
I should hope that the modern railway provides some improvements over British Rail given the higher fares and public subsidy. I think deutsche Bahn do a passable job and we should of had a customer focused railway of that calibre. No chance in Germany that an opportunity to transport 27000 cyclists (paying customers raising £250-£500k in revenue) would be turned down. And rubbish old British Rail managed to convey the bikes of the London to Brighton ride quite happily.
I find it odd that my swivel eyed friends a above don’t mention that a lot of the railway franchises are owned by the nationalised railways of other countries! The railway industry is micromanaged from Whitehall and Railtrack went bust. Privitisation working well as usual.
I should hope that the modern railway provides some improvements over British Rail given the higher fares and public subsidy. I think deutsche Bahn do a passable job and we should of had a customer focused railway of that calibre. No chance in Germany that an opportunity to transport 27000 cyclists (paying customers raising £250-£500k in revenue) would be turned down. And rubbish old British Rail managed to convey the bikes of the London to Brighton ride quite happily.
I find it odd that my swivel eyed friends a above don’t mention that a lot of the railway franchises are owned by the nationalised railways of other countries! The railway industry is micromanaged from Whitehall and Railtrack went bust. Privitisation working well as usual.
This is also the day (16th June) they are starting the new number 10 bus service along the front and up to the station. Brilliant bit of planning that!
This is also the day (16th June) they are starting the new number 10 bus service along the front and up to the station. Brilliant bit of planning that!
Official Green Party spokesman HJarrs – so you want a return to BR of the 80s? Lack of investment, old rolling stock without air conditioning and slam doors, unreliable service, regular strikes and restrictive employment practice’s.
So why haven’t the organisers of the bike ride asked Southern to lay on special trains for the cyclist? How much would this cost each cyclist to price the service? Would they use it? Why should talk companies have to finance special trains? Are you expecting the tax payer to find the capacity? For a once-per-year event?
And DB is a private company with the German Government being the major shareholder and is now allegedly the second largest transport company in the world – is this the nationalisation you want for the UK?
So please keep up the misleading spinning in support of Green Party official policy.
Official Green Party spokesman HJarrs – so you want a return to BR of the 80s? Lack of investment, old rolling stock without air conditioning and slam doors, unreliable service, regular strikes and restrictive employment practice’s.
So why haven’t the organisers of the bike ride asked Southern to lay on special trains for the cyclist? How much would this cost each cyclist to price the service? Would they use it? Why should talk companies have to finance special trains? Are you expecting the tax payer to find the capacity? For a once-per-year event?
And DB is a private company with the German Government being the major shareholder and is now allegedly the second largest transport company in the world – is this the nationalisation you want for the UK?
So please keep up the misleading spinning in support of Green Party official policy.
*** Sorry – corrected version ***
Dear Official Green Party Spokesman HJarrs,
So you want a return to BR of the 80s? Remember the lack of investment, the old rolling stock without air conditioning and slam doors, the unreliable service, the regular strikes and the restrictive working practices of 20 years ago when privatisation started?
Do you want a return to the awful rail service so the 1970s and 80s with every increasing public subsidies?
Attack Govia and the other rail companies as much as you like, but journeys and passenger numbers have increased to levels now higher than the 1940s due, IMHO, to private investment and competition providing better services to passengers.
So why haven’t the organisers of the bike ride asked Southern to lay on special trains for the cyclist? How much would this cost each cyclist to use such a service? Would they use it? Are you expecting the tax payer to fund the capacity? For a once-per-year event? Why can’t they cycle back?
And don’t forget DB is a private company with the German Government being the major shareholder and is now allegedly the second largest transport company in the world – is this the nationalisation you want for the UK?
So please keep up your unflinching support of Green Party official policy. What a totally wretched little archaic left-wing political party!
*** Sorry – corrected version ***
Dear Official Green Party Spokesman HJarrs,
So you want a return to BR of the 80s? Remember the lack of investment, the old rolling stock without air conditioning and slam doors, the unreliable service, the regular strikes and the restrictive working practices of 20 years ago when privatisation started?
Do you want a return to the awful rail service so the 1970s and 80s with every increasing public subsidies?
Attack Govia and the other rail companies as much as you like, but journeys and passenger numbers have increased to levels now higher than the 1940s due, IMHO, to private investment and competition providing better services to passengers.
So why haven’t the organisers of the bike ride asked Southern to lay on special trains for the cyclist? How much would this cost each cyclist to use such a service? Would they use it? Are you expecting the tax payer to fund the capacity? For a once-per-year event? Why can’t they cycle back?
And don’t forget DB is a private company with the German Government being the major shareholder and is now allegedly the second largest transport company in the world – is this the nationalisation you want for the UK?
So please keep up your unflinching support of Green Party official policy. What a totally wretched little archaic left-wing political party!
It made no sense to me to have to get a lift up to the start line yesterday morning. three extra trains an hour on Sunday would guarantee people going to or returning post ride would take the train. I think the BHF have missed a trick in not getting this sorted.
But the route was great, the spectators wonderful and the final 3 miles flew by. Thank you Brighton for hosting the end point on this ride!
It made no sense to me to have to get a lift up to the start line yesterday morning. three extra trains an hour on Sunday would guarantee people going to or returning post ride would take the train. I think the BHF have missed a trick in not getting this sorted.
But the route was great, the spectators wonderful and the final 3 miles flew by. Thank you Brighton for hosting the end point on this ride!