Great Western Rail Question

[tippers_kiwi]

Does anyone on here have any experience with Great Western and booking bikes on their Services? I've booked a group saver for 4 people from London to Bristol on the 25th May 2023, when I tried to book the bikes I booked 1 bike space and the page showed up 4 times so though that must have worked. When I got the confirmation there was nothing about bike spaces on there and it said to book bike spaces go to the website.

So logged on and tried that way, the window flashed up saying that it was not possible to book a bike space but then I had 4 emails and my account has updated with 4 references all showing a references number with (Seat/Bike Reservation only) Status = Completed and the details of the journey.

I talked to GWR both via phone and chat and they said they can't see any of those reservations, they said there are no bike spaces available on that train (or the one before or after it) but they can't tell me if those reservations belong to me. When I asked if it is possible the spaces are not released yet that said it could be just try. The person on the phone said you may have to travel without the bikes....not helpful for a cycle tour!!

Be interested to hear if others have had 'fun' getting bike spaces on GWR trains.

[JellyLegs]

It was pre pandemic but my experience online booking in advance was uncannily similar to yours.  I ended cancelling the tickets and driving as I needed to ensure bike and I arrived in Bristol by a set time and I had no confidence it would actually happen due to no one at GWR being able to confirm whether there was even bike carriage available on the train let alone whether I had one booked.  To make it even better, when I cancelled the tickets I was only able to cancel my seat and not the bike reservation if I had one so it may have ended up unused!   

I have also booked once via the ticket office and that worked ish.  I had a ticket for the reservation but there was already a bike in situ when I boarded and they couldn’t identify the owner so I ended up holding my bike in an entranceway between Reading and Bristol.

[tippers_kiwi]

It was pre pandemic but my experience online booking in advance was uncannily similar to yours.  I ended cancelling the tickets and driving as I needed to ensure bike and I arrived in Bristol by a set time and I had no confidence it would actually happen due to no one at GWR being able to confirm whether there was even bike carriage available on the train let alone whether I had one booked.  To make it even better, when I cancelled the tickets I was only able to cancel my seat and not the bike reservation if I had one so it may have ended up unused!   

I have also booked once via the ticket office and that worked ish.  I had a ticket for the reservation but there was already a bike in situ when I boarded and they couldn’t identify the owner so I ended up holding my bike in an entranceway between Reading and Bristol.

OK, so there might be some merit in going to Paddington! Thanks, I'll leave that option on the table for now. I've had a sort of confirmation that there are currently no spaces to book as in, not all booked but none to actually book and I should check back next week....it could all be so much easier!

[rogerzilla]

Worth reading the "bikes on Class 800 trains" thread, too. If you get on at the train's starting station it should be less fraught, although you still have the issue that the bike spaces are too small for two bikes, unless they're short wheelbase/narrow bar bikes.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I've had success using the GWR app, or rather website. I've had total failure trying to do it via a real live face-to-face human. But my general approach, and the only one I've used post-pan, is to take the smaller trains, where reservations are neither needed nor available. But that won't help you get from London to Bristol. Sorry.

[alfapete]

But aren't there only two bike spaces per train? Or have I misunderstood.

I've used GWR a couple of times in the past with no problems. The bikespaces are only released 3 months (or is it 12 weeks?) beforedate of travel and I had to add my bike reservation by phone having already booked my ticket once. But then I didn't get a ticket to attach to the bike. Twitter @GWR told me that quoting the booking reference would be enough.

It's far from perfect.

[rogerzilla]

There are 2 or 4 spaces depending on the configuration - most trains are paired up in 9 or 10 coach sets* so you get 4 spaces.  But, in practice, 4 means anything from 2 to zero depending on bike size and how many suitcases have got there first.

*which is why there's no buffet car; two shorter units are coupled cab-to-cab, with no gangway connection.  I hate these trains.

[bikepacker]

Most times I have used them I have found GW very good and their train guards to be very flexible where bikes are concerned. I have been known to turn up without a bike reservation and have never not got on the train.

Coming from RichForrests’ birthday weekend, at Watlington I got to Oxford and just didn’t feel up to riding the Cotswold hills to get home. I decided to get a train to Evesham or Pershore and ride from there. The ticket seller told me the next train had no bike reservations and I would have to wait for a later one that did.

I settled down on the platform bench to wait an hour for my train when the earlier train pulls into the station 15 minutes late apparently having had an engine problem. The guard was a harassed looking young lady. She looks at me and asks if I am travelling on that train, so I tell her I have a valid ticket but my bike reservation is for the later train. She just says and I quote; “get your bike on the train quick and let’s get this f**king load of scrap going”.

Other train guards on the GW Cotswold line have also been helpful when I have travelled with a bike.

[tippers_kiwi]

Thanks all, that is all very helpful. I make 12 weeks this coming Thursday so will take a chill pill for now and try my luck with various options next week. It wouldn't be awful if we had to split between 2 trains for the 4 bikes if they do only take 2 at a time but will report back on what happens.

Will take a look at the "bikes on Class 800 trains" thread as well.

[Rod Marton]

I book a bike on GWR trains quite regularly. It's a bit late for you now, but the best way to do it is when you buy your ticket on the GWR website. There is an email address over which it is possible to book bike reservations with your tickets: GWRreservations@gwr.com.

Whilst I always book a bike, I don't necessarily travel on the train for which I always have a reservation and I've never had a problem. Though I don't travel to or from London, and they might be a bit more fussy there.

On Class 800 trains, bike spaces are distributed throughout the train. Each bike space theoretically holds two bikes, but it is difficult to fit more than one in. The bike space also doubles as luggage space, so sometimes you will have to shift suitcases out as well. On five carriage trains the bike spaces are in the B and D carriages, towards the centre of the train. Ten carriage trains are two five carriage trains hooked together, so four bike spaces. On nine carriage trains there are five bike spaces, in carriages B, D, J (two here) and one in first class. Be warned, station announcements don't advertise all of these spaces, though there is usually a bike symbol on the carriage at the appropriate doors.

[GdS]

 I used them a lot in 2022; trying to book bikes via the GWR website never worked but using WhatsApp worked every time  with a graphic booking reference sent back

this is the number on the GWR website not sure if it's the one I used

07890 608043

On Class 800 trains, bike spaces are distributed throughout the train. Each bike space theoretically holds two bikes, but it is difficult to fit more than one in.

The bike bit is either side at the end of the carriage. there are 2 hang up spaces either side no problem at all to hang 2 bikes in each cubicle. So at least 4 bikes per train, there may be more spaces in a longer train (the 800s vary a lot in length)

Thinking about it these spaces might be no longer suitable for passenger seating or even toilets as they are "crumple zones"

LNER use the same train types and bike spaces but it's much easier to book bikes. The only time I've ever been asked to prove I had a reservation was on Avanti West Coast by the platform staff.

[Kim]

The bike bit is either side at the end of the carriage. there are 2 hang up spaces either side no problem at all to hang 2 bikes in each cubicle.

Depends entirely on the bike and the person doing the hanging.  It's easy to say it's fine when you're tall, able-bodied and your bike has a diamond frame, road tyres and drop handlebars.

Thinking about it these spaces might be no longer suitable for passenger seating or even toilets as they are "crumple zones"

The space is modular, with the TOCs able to specify whether it's fitted with a bike/luggage space, a toilet or a catering trolley storage unit.  The size of the module was decided upon long before anyone involved thought about bicycles, and is constrained by structural elements of the carriage, which is why the cycle space is unfit for purpose.  There's a thread somewhere where I describe evaluating the prototype.

[perpetual dan]

I went to Bristol with a bike a couple of years back. As far as I remember the website wasn’t particularly helpful - unlike the Scottish sleeper which lets you declare the bike up front and reports on space, or absence of it in the results. I may well have gone to the nearest station with a travel centre (rather than a ticket office). The staff there can cope with the idea of being flexible on time but needing to take a bike, and translate that into lots of searching.

My other grumble that trip was that the bike space and seat were several carriages apart. But it was summer 2021, and I’d treated myself to 1st class to avoid the coughing masses.

[tippers_kiwi]

I book a bike on GWR trains quite regularly. It's a bit late for you now, but the best way to do it is when you buy your ticket on the GWR website. There is an email address over which it is possible to book bike reservations with your tickets: GWRreservations@gwr.com.

Thanks, that's super helpful as have not been able to find an email address on their website. My tickets are refundable so if it comes to it I will go down that route.

I used them a lot in 2022; trying to book bikes via the GWR website never worked but using WhatsApp worked every time  with a graphic booking reference sent back
this is the number on the GWR website not sure if it's the one I used
07890 608043

Thanks for that info. I did speak to them over WhatsApp (as well as messenger) and reading it back I think when they were saying there are no reservations available they meant that the reservations are not open yet as opposed to my pessimistic 'all the spaces are gone'!

Based on all the evidence at the moment I think that my eagerness to get things booked after struggling with accommodation being a bit tight already I just tried to do this all a bit early. I'll get back on this over the weekend/next week when it is inside the 12 weeks to go and see what happens.

[jiberjaber]

Thinking back to the last time I used one of these trains back from Wales, I think I booked the bike on at the ticket office in Barry station - but that was for the same day and only 1 bike.

[mmmmartin]

Might not work for you but on a few FNRttC rides the train from London to York needs bike reservations. I have seen one rider take the wheels off the bike and leave it in the luggage carriage and put the wheels into an IKEA bag and go to his seat. I asked the guard and he said it was perfectly ok to do this, and he gestured to a bicycle frame without wheels and said: "That's not a bicycle."
Others have removed pedals and turned handlebars then wrapped the whole thing in a £1 roll of clingfirm .
But this might not work for you

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

I used GWR several times last year and was able to book a bike reservation on line.  The staff in the ticket office in Bristol were also able to swap a ticket around for me (at no extra charge) and re-reserve my bicycle when plans changed courtesy of a broken saddle. 

[Jimmy Anderson]

I did speak to them over WhatsApp (as well as messenger)

I have found one great advantage of these methods is that you have something in writing you can show to the guard just in case you need to

[tippers_kiwi]

Thanks all for the helpful advise here. I ended up dropping a mail to GWRreservations@gwr.com and they confirmed that the bookings for that day were open later than usual, but they were not sure why. They told me to get in touch with them a week later which I did and they've booked the 4 bike spaces.

Now just got to figure out the details of getting back home but that's at the end of the tour so I'm less worried

[Owen]

I've been having the same problem this morning.
I'm trying to book a ticket from Paddington to Temple Meads and return in July to ride Sunseekers and Moonrakers and I'd like to do it with out driving.
Apparently I am too early to book a bike reservation, but they can't tell me when reservations will open.
Keep checking back was the reply I got from GWR help.

I'll probably just end up driving, there is little in it cost wise.

[alfapete]

Apparently I am too early to book a bike reservation, but they can't tell me when reservations will open.
Keep checking back was the reply I got from GWR help.

I seem to remember it was 3 months (or possibly 12 weeks) from the date of travel - I had to wait a while to book one for a trip in May and managed to do so early in February having booked the seat a month earlier.
The call centre person had obviously not come across the problem before - clueless.

[GdS]

I got the same reply from my local station, seriously try What'sApp