Bike and luggage storage

[Bletchleyite]

I get the impression that current train designs can’t cope with the massive increase in cycling we’ve seen over the last few years, which seemed to be accelerated by Covid (presumably because people had little else to do with so much being closed!).

With Avanti it's less the amount of cycling as that access to the "cupboard" is staff controlled, but when it's at the rear there are never any staff anywhere near it (and when it's at the front it's not the driver's job to get involved). Guards' vans were great when the guard hung out there when not busy doing other stuff, whereas Pendolinos have a non-passenger van area which is nowhere near the guard's office which is next to the buffet in coach C.

Isn't the EU (yes, I know we left) about to mandate that all trains must carry a minimum of - I think - 6 cycles? That's a whack for DB who have never carried them at all on ICEs before the ICE4! And for Eurostar who seem to try everything they can to avoid them.

 

[ashkeba]

The system really doesn't work at all. I'm surprised they didn't change it (e.g. by adding say 4 or 6 bikes' worth of vertical-hanging "cupboards" elsewhere) at the refurb.

I'm surprised anyone added those vertical hanging cupboards which clearly discriminate against PRM who bike, like the old ban on folding tricycles, just as it seemed the railway was becoming more PRM-friendly and society more cycling-friendly.

 

[yorkie]

We already had a thread on the subject here:

AWC missed connection with bike

Hi all. I travel with Avanti into London and back 1-2 times a week with my bike on their pendilino trains, I’ve not had any issues buying the ticket or making the reservation for my bike but when I get to the terminal I’m often stuck waiting/looking for someone to open the bike door causing me...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[BurtonM]

^A point not addressed in that thread that someone raised: using the egress handle?! Don't think that's a good idea either.

T-keys are a little too easy to get hold of, I remember a discussion about it a few years ago - I think it was in the context of turning the passenger compartment heaters on/off on 142s because people were cold in winter!

 

[Bletchleyite]

^A point not addressed in that thread that someone raised: using the egress handle?! Don't think that's a good idea either.

T-keys are a little too easy to get hold of, I remember a discussion about it a few years ago - I think it was in the context of turning the passenger compartment heaters on/off on 142s because people were cold in winter!

As mentioned I think the railway should move away from them to other options e.g. electronic proximity card locks. You can never make them hard to get because you can just make one yourself, and square keys have lots of other applications and aren't hard to modify to add the circular cut and pin hole.

They're pure "security by obscurity" which isn't good enough in these terrorism-risk times. Not really any more secure than my back garden gate which has a bolt at the top you can reach over and open.

I was astonished, as an aside, that the cab door locks on Classes 195/331 have been changed from a different key to T-key...madness.