Bringing bikes on train from Galway-Dublin

MrJoeSoap

Can anyone tell me the cost of bringing a bike on the train from Dublin to Galway, and how far in advance it has to be booked, as myself and two friends are hoping to cycle there and get the train back.

Cheers,
JoeSoap.

Mucco

The rip-off price of 8 yo-yos each way. Yes, you read that correctly - 8 quid each way.
I bought my ticket 3 mins before the train left on Sunday. The seller was muttering something about 20 minutes, but I wasn't really listening, so not sure what that was about.

As an aside, the privately run trains in the UK carry bikes for free.

M

MrJoeSoap

Cheers mate. 8 quid is pretty pathetic alright, but I don't honestly have an alternative.

daymobrew

MrJoeSoap wrote:

Cheers mate. 8 quid is pretty pathetic alright, but I don't honestly have an alternative.

You could cycle
Earlier this month some guy cycled to Belfast :eek:

fletch

I got a train from Maynooth - Sligo and nobody asked me to pay for my bike.

MrJoeSoap

daymobrew wrote:

You could cycle
Earlier this month some guy cycled to Belfast :eek:

Haha, you're funny.

Unfortunately, I'm cycling from Dublin 15 -> Arklow, Co. Wicklow -> Oulart, Co. Wexford -> Dunmore East, Co. Waterford -> Dungarvan, Co. Waterford -> and then freewheeling it on to Galway. 10 days or so of cycling and a massive number of kilometres.

I probably would cycle home from Galway but for the fact that I have to get home on a Sunday because college starts on the Monday.

Theres a time to try and be smart mate.

daymobrew

I went to http://www.irishrail.ie/home/ and entered 'bicycle' in the 'Site Search' field.
It led me to this FAQ on iarnrodeireann.ie:
http://www.iarnrodeireann.ie/home/faq.asp?faq_id=31#31

No mention of a charge for bringing a bicycle on a train.
Might be worth contacting Galway station AND head office in Connolly to ask whether fees are charged. And, if so, to add that information to the above FAQ.

Bus Eireann charge e10 to carry your bike, though the fare to carry you will be a lot less than on the train (e13.50 one way according to the fares page

Genghis

I regularly travel on trains with my bike and I am never asked to pay. While I have a commuter ticket, and so amn't buying a ticket each time, what I suggest you do is simply buy a normal ticket (don't mention the bike), then proceed to the platform with your bike and ticket. The inspector has never asked me - "This is a ticket for you only, where is your bike ticket?".

Also, it helps if you act like you know what you are at. Bikes are not carried on all trains, though I think all Intercity trains are okay (bikes not allowed on Arrow typoe trains for sure). Bring your bike to the engine room (right at the front of the train) and either stick it in yourself or give it to the guard in there (he is usually loading post, etc, which also travels in the same carriage). He will normally ask you where you are getting off, and he will usually have it waiting for you on arrival.

Most times they are very obliging - once I arrived with a broken bike to find it half-fixed when I got to my station - the guy also told me what I needed to do to fix it then myself (he hadn't the right tools on him, or else he'd have done it for me)!

MrJoeSoap

Cheers mate, I'll give it a go!

Mucco

Yeah, I thought that by leaving it to the last minute, I'd be let on with the bike, but I was ordered back to get a ticket. Maybe it's just the Galway conductors?
It's a bike or dog ticket, so presumably cats and surfboards go free.

M

MrJoeSoap

Maybe cats ON surfboards go free.