Cambridge cyclists complain that station bike parking is cluttered and badly managed

Local cyclists have described the management of bike facilities at Cambridge railway station as ‘diabolical’ reports the Cambridge News. The comments come with work already underway on the station’s £2.5m Cycle Point.

Emma Green said that her bike had been ‘ripped to shreds’ while using the bike racks.

"I have been commuting for two years and it's been a bit of a nightmare. We are looking forward to a better station but the management has been diabolical. People are in a rush, they put in their bike and you get caught behind them – multiple times I have come back with my bike locked to others.

"It's a mess and they don't seem to have done it from the point of view of what will work for people who have to put up with it. People don't stop to complain or say something about it so I think it's about time somebody did something about it."

An Abellio Greater Anglia spokesperson said that disruption had resulted from moving the cycle racks recently.

"With the redevelopment of the area around Cambridge station the cycle racks have moved to allow the creation of a major work site for the construction. This has created an additional 300 cycle parking spaces bringing the total parking capacity for cycles at the station to 1,300.

"While customers become familiar with the new arrangements, Abellio will be providing additional staff to provide assistance to customers when parking their cycles, ensuring that the area is managed effectively and all the available spaces are used.”

While work recently began on the station's new £2.5m CyclePoint – a facility which will provide secure parking for around 3,000 bikes – the station has long had a problem with cycle facilities. In 2011, a shortage of cycle parking led to a new disabled access ramp being blocked by parked bikes.

Speaking at the time, a spokesman for Cambridge Cycling Campaign said that this was a prime example of why the group had been calling for improvements to cycle parking at the station. “Anything that looks like a secure structure that people can park their bikes to before using the train will have a bicycle attached.”