Bicycles now allowed free on urban trains

Irish Rail has said today that is now allowing bicycles on off-peak Dart and Commuter trains.

Cyclists will be able to bring their bikes on trains between 10am and 3.30am, and after 7pm, Monday to Friday. This extends to all day Saturday and Sunday, but excluding times of major fixtures and concerts and similar events at Lansdowne Road and Croke Park.

Minister for sustainable transport Ciarán Cuffe launched initiative at  Connolly Station today said it is “another positive step” towards building a strong cycling culture in Ireland.

“The Government’s National Cycling policy puts a significant emphasis on better coordination between cycling and rail travel as sustainable modes of transport. I first raised this issue with Irish Rail soon after taking office and I’m pleased to see this aspect of the policy now being implemented,” said Ciarán Cuffe, Minister of State for Sustainable Transport.

He added: “Allowing cyclists take bikes on off peak trains brings us into line with many European countries and will open up more possibilities for leisure cyclists as well as commuters working outside the traditional peak hours. In Dublin for example, weekender cyclists will be able to bring bikes across the other side of the city to visit coastal towns such as Malahide or Dalkey.

The announcement today follows on from a trial of carrying bicycles on some Dublin Commuter routes last year.

As we reported last summer, the Railway Procurement Agency went against the national cycling policy and said it will not allow bicycles on Luas or the planned Metro North between the city and Swords.

Bicycles are carried on trams in Frankfurt, Cologne, Istanbul, Minneapolis, Porto, and Rotterdam. Elsewhere, bicycles are carried on metro and regional rail networks, in countries such as Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands. In the United States, cities such as Washington DC and Los Angeles allow bicycles on metro systems and mounted to the front of urban buses.

Bicycles spaces on Intercity trains are now also bookable at irishrail.ie for €6 per journey, Irish Rail said.

The railway company said it is “delighted to be providing these additional services for cyclists and we hope that it promotes even more use of our services by cyclists.” It said it has also undertaken an audit of bicycle parking facilities at its 142 stations around the country.

UPDATE: Full conditions of carriage of bicycles can be found here.


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