British Heart Foundation Cycle ride London to Brightion

lateagain · Post by **lateagain** » Tue Jun 22, 2004 3:23 pm

I'm hearing stories that people who joined in this annual charity event at the last minute arrived to find that the railways could not bring them and their bikes back to London on Sunday. Apparently they could bring them back on Monday??!! Do they operate different stock on weekdays?

So people who (however unwisely â€“ bearing in mind that hindsight is no wisdom at all) did something unselfish for others were met with an overnight hotel bill or the cost and problem of finding road transport to get themselves and their bikes back home?

Could none of the rail companies operating this route have laid on suitable trains and stock to support this event?

It does seem that the concept of public transport as a service is as dead as the Dodo!

Geoff

RichyJ · Post by **RichyJ** » Tue Jun 22, 2004 3:47 pm

When i did the L2B to be a few years ago special Bike trains where put on, Seated Carriages and i guess mail van things for the bikes. We had to book these in advance and only people with advance tickets were allowed to bring bikes onto the station. I guess everything got booked way in advance as they were very strict on checking tickets and they didn't seem to be selling them on the day.
I guess it makes sense doing it that way to stop overcrowding.
I guess people should have looked in advance at getting home.

chrispierce · Post by **chrispierce** » Tue Jun 22, 2004 6:15 pm

Racing bikes is my main hobby and I was going to do L2B but, alas thameslinks bike policy prevented me.

nwallace · Post by **nwallace** » Tue Jun 22, 2004 6:24 pm

Thought ther was a process to turn a bicycle into hand luggage

1) Remove front wheel
2) Remove rear wheel
3) Remove seat

probably not, im happy i just did a 23kmh average over 26km.... yes i know its pathetic.

Elojikal · Post by **Elojikal** » Tue Jun 22, 2004 6:59 pm

South Central warned the organisers a year ago that the new trains could not carry the numbers of bikes that the older ones could (partly because the old slammers could have their seats easily removed to provide extra space but this is not possible with the new Electrostars) and that they should make alternative arrangements which the organisers did by hiring several lorrys to convey all the participants bikes back to London where they could be collected. However it seems not everybody was aware of this.

To stop any problems with cyclists still trying to get on the trains with their bikes South Central had the British Transport Police turn out in force at Brighton Station to turn any cyclists away. A group of annoyed cyclists then went north to Preston Park station and crowded onto a train there. When the guard told them that the train wasn't going anywhere until they got off the cyclists refused to move and eventually the service had to be cancelled and the existing passengers had to detrain and catch another service an hour later.

Then yesterday, predictably the angry tub thumping letters came into the local paper from the cyclists lobby ranting about the train companies designing their new trains to have as many seats as possible to cater for the commuters thus messing things up for the participants of a once yearly event.

The Evening Standard also did its usual sensationalist "TRAIN COMPANIES SLAMMED FOR..." piece about it as well.

allypally · Post by **allypally** » Tue Jun 22, 2004 7:34 pm

I thought Southern were DOO? Plus, maybe some of those royal mail trains that EWS have languishing could have been used?

southcoasttrains · Post by **southcoasttrains** » Tue Jun 22, 2004 7:36 pm

I can back up Elojikal there.

People who signed up with British Heart foundation would of been aware of this and were told to find other means of transport.

It's not the seating in the electrostars the problem is the dividers between the vestibule and the seating area.

Shows how passengers dont read the signs or listen to announcements.

Elojikal · Post by **Elojikal** » Tue Jun 22, 2004 8:22 pm

allypally wrote:I thought Southern were DOO? Plus, maybe some of those royal mail trains that EWS have languishing could have been used?

I think that's just the south London suburbans services. The Brighton Express and the stoppers do have guards although you won't always see them. Thameslink are supposed to be DOO the entire Brighton Mainline route now although you see sometimes can catch a guard.

allypally · Post by **allypally** » Tue Jun 22, 2004 8:44 pm

Central are supposed to have conductors on every train. Huh. I must have saved several thousand pounds over the years, with no conductor on the train.

southcoasttrains · Post by **southcoasttrains** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 6:01 am

Brighton Express is DOO. Brighton. East Croydon, Clapham Junction and London Victoria have the gates manned at all times. Very few of these services have a guard.

Elojikal · Post by **Elojikal** » Wed Jun 23, 2004 12:28 pm

You won't see them at the weekend but they do operate during weekdays although they certainly aren't giving the driver RA instructions or anything like that yep. They're mostly involved in checking tickets and so on.

Wish they'd do it more. I'm fed up of getting to Victoria when the next Brighton Express is due to leave in about 10 minutes and I can't get a first class seat because first class is already full up with Londoners treating the service as a luxurious suburban service. They all disappear at East Croydon and you just know that they don't actually have a first class ticket! Friggin' chavs with their gucci London chav wear.

The irony of this of course is that on the up service from Brighton to Victoria the guard is usually lounging around in first class sitting opposite me and usually just chatting to some regular he obviously knows.

southcoasttrains · Post by **southcoasttrains** » Thu Jun 24, 2004 7:14 am

I was talking to someone in the pub last night about the Brighton Belle and how that was a luxurious service. Non stop between London and Brighton and you could have kippers with champagne.

They ought to bring this back, an Electrostar painted in Pullman colours and a restaurant.

allypally · Post by **allypally** » Thu Jun 24, 2004 6:00 pm

I really cant see that working. It would look horrible in that livery, plus, im not sure a restaurant would fit in with an Electrostar unit, they are already strectching power supplies.

southcoasttrains · Post by **southcoasttrains** » Thu Jun 24, 2004 9:39 pm

Why wouldnt it work? Hows it work in a HST set? No electricity there, heard of batteries?

allypally · Post by **allypally** » Thu Jun 24, 2004 9:40 pm

Dont Electrostars draw power for EVERYTHING from the live rail?