Bicycling blogger Larry Lagarde is trying to stir up interest in so-called “bike trains” on Amtrak.
The cyclist at the RideThisBike.com blog is excited about last year's success of Bike Train on ViaRail, the Canadian national passenger rail carrier. The service allowed dozens of bicycles to be loaded “as is” — without boxes or disassembly — between Toronto and Niagara on four weekends.
Possible in US
ViaRail was so happy with the response that it's considering more service this summer. Larry emailed to say that he's convinced that such a service on Amtrak would have similar positive results:
“Ideally, the Bike Train would run from a large metro area served now by Amtrak. The metro area selected must have a high number of cyclists and the train must run to a destination that is favored by cyclists and is just a few hours from the large metro area. The cycling destination should already be a stop on Amtrak that is staffed by Amtrak personnel.
“Based on the above qualifications, if readers have ideas regarding a potential Bike Train service, please pass them along.”
Bike Train
Larry introduced the idea in “Riding the Bike Train” and followed up with results of a straw poll of some bicycle advocates in “Unboxed Bikes on Trains in the USA.”
Leave a comment at one of the above blog posts, or email him.
Presently, Amtrak offers regular roll-on service for bicycles on some trains with onboard bike racks. The Talgo railcars on the Seattle-Portland run are an example.
They only offer space for a few bikes, however, as opposed to the 56-rack baggage cars on the Toronto-Niagara runs in Canada last year.
Take the train
Cyclists need to reserve space when making a ticket reservation (there's a $5-$10 fee). If there's no rack space, the bicycles must go in boxes, usually supplied at the train station. (You'll need to turn the handlebars and remove the pedals.)
Amtrak has information at its website about traveling with a bicycle; here's details about carrying bikes on the Amtrak Cascade. Here's a link for Canada's Bike Train.
Also, check BikeAccess for folks' experiences taking their bikes on Amtrak, and many other of the world's railways.
Silverton-Durango
I hitched a ride on trains twice during the summer of 1984. The first was the easiest experience, using the Silverton-Durango Narrow Gauge Railway (pictured above).
The conductur and baggage handler merely lifted out bikes into a baggage car and tied them down. In Durango, the guy lowered our bikes to us and we were on our way.
Later, I took a train from Oakland to Red Bluff. I had to do some disassembly to the bike, including removing the panniers, to box the bike. After getting off the train in Red Bluff, reassembling my bike under a streetlight gave me something to do while I waited for sunrise.
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