Bikes and Trains

This is a tough one for the commuter. See I have no real objection to people cycling to and from the station at each end, provided Lycra is only worn by attractive women cyclists. Thing is I really don't like bikes on my trains.

This is mostly because the majority of trains that run on my routes have no space for a bike and the cyclist ends up clogging up the vestibules. Not ideal. The obvious solution would be to put cycle spaces on to trains, but I kind of object to that too since a bike takes up the space that could allow 2 people to sit. Its a conundrum.

Of course Scotrail don't make life easy. I considered trying to cycle to the station from my flat but I neither wanted to lug my bike all the way to work on the train nor leave it chained to something as entertainment for local vandals so I decided to try and rent one of the cycle lockers at my local station. I picked up a leaflet and filled in the details, however as it transpires rental of the lockers is not dealt with at the station, no I would have to travel to head office in Glasgow to hand in my form, obviously only during office hours. This is about the worst way they could have organised this, surely it makes the most sense for me to apply through my local station since I'm there every day and that's where the locker is located. I have decided this means that Scotrail don't really want people using the lockers, this might mean they could be called successful and they may have to invest in more.

Back to bikes on trains, its really part of a larger problem, where a designer and a bean counter get together and commit hideous acts of short-sightedness. Trains now have less luggage space than ever before, with Virgin's pendolino's being the worst, the overhead storage isn't even big enough to take a small rucksack. In Short people have got together and made something that looks pretty and holds loads of people, but neglected to consider that the same people may want to carry things with them, particularly on a Glasgow-London trip. My solution, on local trains just a bit of thought for things like between seat storage for luggage, perhaps even take some dead space and make it a luggage rack. on longer distance, a guards van, yes, a car devoted entirely to luggage, I hear accountants shudder as I type but think of it. As you board you have to check in any larger bags (possibly at cost) where they are labeled with your destination and transfers, someone is then employed to load and offload this carriage at the specified points. Its not flawless but could solve most of the problems.