Cycling campaigners in Northern Ireland have warned that people are being pushed back towards car-dependency by rail providers’ strict no bikes policy on rush hour trains. This, coupled with poor cycle parking facilities at stations, means people are “being forced to revert to car-dependency behaviours once again”, they say.

The Ards and North Down Cycle Campaign Group took their concerns to bus and rail operator Translink and the Belfast Telegraph, highlighting how cyclists cannot take bikes on rush hour trains and even after 9.30am there are only four bicycle spaces available per service. 

The campaigners want the “20-year-old bike on board policy” updated to modern day “climate change action plans” and suggested the no bikes policy had been hardened this year, seeing an end to leeway that conductors would apparently previously give cyclists where suitable.

“If Translink do not update their ‘bikes on board’ policy and cannot offer secure bike parking at their train stations, this results in the public — and some of our own members — being forced to revert to car-dependency behaviours once again,” a spokesperson said.

“Our group is specifically now urging Translink to update their 20 year-old bikes on board policy and align it with the prevalent climate change action plans that have been created since the day the current policy came into being.

“The annual ‘Ride On’ Belfast event allows non-folding bikes on board up to 7.30am across NI, so applying the same condition for all working mornings of the year, when less than 50 per cent carriage loading rates are observed, would be a good start.”

The campaign group also expressed concerns about the security and standard of cycle racks outside stations. The two issues combined, they suggest, will put people off making journeys by bike and train, instead seeing a reversion to journeys by car.

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Last May, Irish Rail also informed customers of a bike ban during peak hours, a policy which critics said represents “a step backwards” and “essentially eliminates the possibility of mixed-mode commuting”.

From the accounts of train travel we’ve heard from readers of this website over the years, it’s fair to say that commuters in England, Wales and Scotland also feel frustration at rail operators’ stances towards bikes on trains and the often-poor action on providing safe cycle parking facilities at stations.

Theft and vandalism are rife at station bike racks. In January, Southern Rail, Sussex Police and the British Transport Police were mocked by a sign placed outside a bike rack at Chichester’s station, it renaming the cycle parking a “bicycle redistribution point”.

 Back in Northern Ireland, the Belfast Telegraph says it has seen Translink’s response to the cycling campaigners and it states that the operator is seeking to introduce access-controlled shelters at some existing facilities.

Translink also commented more generally about the bike ban concerns, a spokesperson stating: “We are an active partner with Sustrans, the Department for Infrastructure, Public Health Agency, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, and Belfast City Council in the annual Active Travel Challenge.

“This initiative encourages people to try walking, cycling and taking public transport for a more active, healthier and more sustainable way to travel. We also support the annual ‘Ride On’ day in June.

“On busy commuter trains, we prioritise space for passengers, and we can accommodate up to four bicycles on trains after 9.30am and all day on weekends, subject to availability. Our customers can use Translink’s Journey Planner app to plan their journeys with bikes. To further support our passengers in incorporating active travel into their daily commute, we offer a variety of bicycle parking facilities at our stations. These are advertised through our website.”