Delays reported on Eurostar cycle carriage policy

Delays reported on Eurostar cycle carriage policy

‘Mais non,’ says Eurostar

Published: November 3, 2015 at 11:00 am

A few days have now passed since Eurostar’s new bike carriage policy came into effect, but UK cycling charity CTC thinks it may not be active just yet.

The new policy, which was due to come into effect on Sunday 1 November, rules that cyclists must now box up their bikes to travel on the Eurostar train service. But CTC says an employee has since travelled to Paris and back without the need to dismantle and box up his cycle – and was told it would probably be the end of November before the new scheme is fully implemented.

Related: How to pack your bike for a trip abroad

BikeRadar contacted Eurostar to ask if these delays are true, and was told that the new cycle carriage policy is now operational for all customers. Not so, says CTC’s Road Safety and Legal Campaigns Officer, Duncan Dollimore.

“I spoke to the guy at the [dispatch] counter who confirmed they had not boxed any bikes on the day the new policy was supposed to start,” says Dollimore. “He then said it would probably be the end of the month before they started boxing cycles.”

The rule change has drawn criticism from leading politicians on both sides of the Channel, including the UK’s All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson MP, and the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo.

Have you taken your bike on Eurostar since 1 November? Let us know in the comments below.

How to pack a road bike for a trip aborad