Bike-rail

20160326_091842Don’t expect to see anything as helpful as this – it was a one-off because the door you normally enter by was out of use.

Update December 2023 – there are new timetables from December 10th. We’ll revise these pages once we’ve studied them.

This section is all about bikes and trains – hover over the menu item and sub-options will appear, or tap on the down arrow next to the Menu caption on mobile devices.

Industrial Action continues to disrupt services

Please use our form to record sightings of bikes on trains

Cyclists are often dependent on public transport for longer journeys. Fortunately, most rail services in the UK do carry bikes (the exceptions are some light rail systems and tramways) and some buses do as well. These pages attempt to let you know about the current situation in Sheffield and South Yorkshire.

Both Northern Railway and Trans-Pennine Express have brought in new rolling stock and you may find that travelling conditions have improved on some routes that were previously quite poor.

You can take a folding bike with you on all trains in the UK without a reservation.

Timetables change twice a year and cycle carriage rules for each train route differ a lot – Please double-check times and rules with National Rail

For cycle space booking, – see some say it is best to stick with one provider, opening a user account so you keep a record of bookings. Others use filters to separate out train booking confirmations from different companies into their own folders.

The Real-Time Trains website gives detailed information on the type of trains used on each service. 

Don’t be shy to ask station staff about what you need to do to get your bike on the train – they are there to help. All trains have bike symbols to show you where to load your bike although they can be hard to spot. Information screens sometimes tell you where to load your bike on the train but this is intermittent.

There is this slightly geeky way of working out where the bike space is on some trains – if the buffers have a yellow stripe on them that means this is the end with First Class. The bike space will therefore be at the other end of the train.

If there are other cyclists getting on at the same time as you, ask them where they’re getting off – then you can organise things so it’s easier to get the bikes off at your destinations.

If you are travelling with laden panniers it’s a good idea to take them off before you board, or be ready to if necessary. If there are two of you, having one person loading and unloading the bikes and bags while the other hands them up off the platform, or collects them from the train, can work very well.

You can book your bike at the same time as any train on the following websites:

Scotrail

Trans-Pennine Express

Trainline (charges apply)

You can check changes to some train formations at Real Time Trains

Northern have similar Journey Check pages
m.Journeycheck.com/northernrail

National Rail publishes this information on travelling by train with a bike.

If you’re travelling bike-rail with kids check out the advice page on this excellent blog

Looking for opportunities to take your bike out on the train somewhere for a ride? Check out these bike-rail “tube maps”. 

If you have any issues or suggestions for improving bike-rail journeys with Northern Rail or Trans-Pennine Express contact their Cycle Forum.