Cycling & Cyclists

At National Rail we encourage the combined use of train and bike - two convenient and environmentally friendly forms of transport.

PlusBike

If you are a cyclist and have questions about parking at the station or bringing your bike on a train journey PlusBike is here to help.

PlusBike is a free resource tool with all the information you need to plan a seamless journey when you take the train and you plan to cycle along the way. Whether you are travelling with your own bike or looking to hire one at some point in your journey, PlusBike can help.

You can access information on facilities at the station including bike parking spaces, bike hire schemes and information about taking your bike with you on a train.

What information can you get with PlusBike?

• Bike parking - the number of parking spaces, along with bike facilities at stations including CCTV security, type of storage and location.

• Bike hire - at stations or nearby with links directly to them

• Bikes on trains - on board carriage rules about taking bikes on a train specific to your rail journey, how many bike spaces are available and what types of bikes are allowed

• Bike reservations - whether a bike needs to be reserved to take on board.

Where can you access PlusBike?

Access PlusBike for free via the National Rail website online, mobile app across Apple and Android, and tablets.

Simply use Journey Planner to plan your journey to view the information or search by station.

Watch the short video to discover where to locate PlusBike within Journey Planning.

Fees

PlusBike is a free tool available within the National Rail website and mobile app.

Planning Ahead

Please check if your bike needs to be reserved on a train before you travel. You can check using PlusBike within Journey Planner or directly with the Train Company.

If you are travelling with a bike and have purchased an Advance ticket for a train on which bikes are permitted but bike reservations are not possible, and there is no room for the bike on the booked train for the Advance ticket, then you can travel on the next train with the same ticket on which there is a bike space available.

Bikes and Tandems On-Board

Please make sure you are aware of the bike on train carriage rules before travelling, you can find this information within PlusBike.

In general:

• Label your bike clearly

• Cover folded bikes

• Motorcycles, tricycles and bicycle trailers are not permitted

• Unaccompanied bikes are not permitted

• Bikes must be kept in designated areas and must not obstruct doors or aisles

Bikes are carried at the owner’s own risk (see National Rail Conditions of Travel).

Tandem Bikes

Tandems are only permitted on a limited number of services by the following Operators due to their size:

• Avanti West Coast
• Greater Anglia
• LNER
• ScotRail (Glasgow - Oban route only)

See our Cycle Policies  page for specific details.

Folded bikes

Folding bikes are carried free of charge and without restriction on all services, subject only to the additional requirements for specific services set out below:

• c2c and Stansted Express - folding bikes should be transported in a protective carrying case.

• East Midlands Railway, South Western Railway & LNER - carried free of charge provided they can be stowed as luggage.

• London Overground - carried free of charge, up to a limit of one per vestibule area at peak times.

Engineering work and bikes

Engineering work may affect train services, check before you travel.

In general:

• Non-folding bikes are not allowed on rail replacement bus services at any time.

• Folding bikes can usually be taken on replacement buses. However, this is subject to space being available and this cannot be guaranteed. A break down of which train operators allow folding bikes can be found here

More information on engineering work.

Bus link services and bikes

Some of the journeys showed in Journey Planner are permanent bus links, bikes are not permitted on these services.

Folding bikes are allowed on these services if they are fully folded and stowed as luggage, subject to space being available.

Bike storage and hire

An increasing number of railway stations have good quality bike storage on or near to the station.

In addition, many train companies work with independent cycle companies to offer bike hire at stations or nearby.

Search our station facilities area for more information on bike facilities at stations and bike hire nearby.

Travelling with a bike by Train Operator

Each Train Operating Company will have their own cycle policy, which sets out when non-folding bikes can and cannot be taken on their services (folded bikes are always counted as luggage). A list of these policies, by operator, can be found on our Cycle Policies page, or by selecting the name of the Operator from the table below (link to operator website)

Avanti West Coast	•  c2c	•  Caledonian Sleeper	•  Chiltern Railways
•  CrossCountry	•  East Midlands Railway	•  ​​​​​​​Elizabeth line	•  Eurostar
•  Gatwick Express	•  Grand Central	​​​​​​​•  Great Northern​​​​​​​	•  Great Western Railway
•  Greater Anglia	•  Hull Trains	•  Island Line	•  LNER
•  London Northwestern Railway	•  London Overground	•  Lumo	•  ​​​​​​​ Merseyrail
•  Northern	•  ScotRail	•  Southeastern	•  South Western Railway
•  Southern	•  Stansted Express	•  Thameslink	•  Transport for Wales
•  TransPennine Express	•  West Midlands Railway

For more information about travelling with individual Train Operators with a bike see the links above or contact them directly.

Cycling around London

Pick up a bike at one of over 700 bike docking stations in central London. Simply go to any docking station with your bank card and touch the screen to get started. Ride it where you like then to return it to any docking station ready for the next person.

Available 24 hours a day, all year round. It is self-service and there is no booking required - just turn up and go.

For more information, visit the Transport for London website.

Cycling by train to Europe

The Eurostar website has information about their bike policy.