Sir, – On a recent weekend trip to Athlone from Galway city, my wife and I cycled to the train station where we had booked our seats and bikes for the journey. It transpired that our seats were in the first carriage and the bike storage was in the last carriage. Only one carriage had the bike-carrying facility (limited to two bikes).
The storage area for the bikes uses the space for two seats. It is necessary to store the bikes at an angle in the storage area due to the space available. Initially I stored the bike with the front wheel raised up; however, the rear mud guard was knocked off the bike by the storage rack. So it is preferable to store the bikes with the rear wheel raised up.
There is no diagram or notice to explain this. Also it is necessary to reverse the bike into the train to store it with the rear wheel raised. The doors for entering the carriage are not any wider to accommodate the bike handles.
Travelling in France a few years ago, we were easily able to take bikes on board the train, hanging them by their front wheels in an area that could be used interchangeably for bike storage or as a passenger standing area.
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Arriving in Athlone, we were staying at the Sheraton hotel where we had checked that there was storage available for the bikes. We had to carry our bikes down two flights of stairs to the conference room, with the aid of their friendly staff, so that the bikes could be stored securely.
At a time when we are encouraging people to travel sustainably and use the new bike routes, like the beautiful old railway line from Athlone to Mullingar, I believe there is an opportunity for our national rail service and our hoteliers to develop and provide facilities which will accommodate this. – Yours, etc,
JOHN KENNEDY,
Salthill,
Galway.