Hello to some cyclists

This cheeky advert by Southeastern trains has been running for a couple months and it first appeared without the photo of the folded Brompton. My guess is Southeastern have been turning away a lot of non folding bikes and they wanted to get the message out to cyclists who use their trains. The times you can take a non-folding bike on a Southeastern Train going into London are after 10am and not between 4 and 7pm. I have had the experience of turning up once with my Trek bike at 6.55pm only to be told that I could not go through the barrier for another five minutes. No problems with the Brompton provided it is at least partly folded. Two weeks ago I and another Brompton user got to the barrier at Charing Cross to get on the train and I was let through but the other cyclist was stopped because he hadn’t folded his bike. I think Southeastern are one of the more bike friendly train companies. Staff always say hello and assist when necesary. Greater Anglia trains which operate from Liverpool Street Station seem to barely tolerate bikes, even folding bikes. You can travel but they just may not let you through the barrier on time to get on the train in the first place.

I am getting ready for the travel across town during the Olympics but I am worried that there may be a total ban on bikes on trains for the games.

Comments

Leslie. said…
Welcome back. My usual train line is The Overground (the old North London Line), and I've not seen anyone with a bike stopped from boarding a train by officials. Mind you, I have seen passengers on very crowded trains refuse entry to bikes, to which I have sympathy, as some bikers do try it on! So far though, folded Bromptons always allowed.