A welcome U-turn from Eurostar

At the end of October we wrote about Eurostar’s plans to change their bike policy.

In the meantime a flurry of feedback erupted from a huge variety of sources, from the CTC to Bojo, eventually leading them to reconsider their decision.

Image linked to article
–

The proposed changes would have made it harder to travel with a bike, by requiring any non-folding bike to be dismantled and boxed up to be eligible to travel.

Cyclists surveyed by the CTC overwhelmingly disagreed with the proposals, saying they would be more likely to travel by plane or ferry if they were brought into place. A whopping 98% of those asked expressed this viewpoint.

We’re glad with the decision – anything that encourages travelling with a bike is good with us! It’s also important that people with minimal knowledge on how to dismantle and reassemble their bike aren’t barred from taking theirs abroad.

Their full policy is outlined below and can be found on their website:

All non-folding bikes or those over 85cm long will need to travel with our registered luggage service, Eurodespatch. This is available from London, Paris, Lille and Brussels, and we have a couple of options for you to choose from.

• You can put your bike in a padded bike bag or bike box. We can provide a box for you, which is included in the service price and this is the best option for protecting your bike.
• If you’d prefer to keep your bike fully assembled, Eurodespatch has a limited number of spaces per train, so you’ll need to call us for availability.

It is important to be aware of the last point: only limited spaces exist on each train for assembled bikes, so make sure you book in advance.