"Cycling and rail travel are perfect partners. The combination provides a ‘doorstep-to-
destination’ option for longer-distance journeys which might otherwise be possible only by car.

It is also a really simple way to set about tackling a whole range of problems all in one go: obesity, air pollution, congestion and climate change to name but a few.”

Jon Snow, CTC President

TAKE ACTION: South Central franchise consultation

If you are a commuter or regular user of 'Southern' - the rail company serving the Brighton mainline and parts of Surrey, Hampshire, Kent and East and West Sussex - you may be interested in a consultation into the franchise renewal being conducted by the Department for Transport (DfT).

In advance of the refranchising next year, the Gatwick Express service was transferred to the Southern Railway (Govia) last month and trains will be introduced on extended Brighton-Gatwick-London journeys to provide 'more seats' starting in December 2008. This is a worrying phrase for the service which currently offers cycle carriage throughout the day, and we have had no assurance to date on the changes being made now and in the new franchise specification.

DfT has suggested a 'minimum' of a 1,000 more cycle parking spaces on the South Central network as part of the new franchise but have offered no other suggestions about cycling, either on the enforced peak hour both direction ban on cycle carriage or on the availability of spaces for bikes on any new or refurbished rolling stock. At least 30 Station Travel Plans will also have to be provided by the new franchisee.

The consultation closes on the 14th August 2008 and CTC will be responding. We would be grateful for any responses you submit.

Cycle capacity halved: Arriva Cross Country campaign

CTC is urging members and supporters to take action to dissuade Arriva Cross Country (XC) from going ahead with proposals to reduce capacity for cycle carriage on their trains - and to contact MPs to press the Government to ensure that cycle-rail integration is enhanced not diminished.  We particularly urge you to re-contact the many MPs who supported CTC's "Keep Cycling on Track" campaign last summer.  The response from Miminsters will have encouraged MPs to think the Goverment would now be more positive on promoting cycle-rail travel, yet they are now pressing XC to include more seats at the expense of cycle spaces.

XC routes run between locations such as Aberdeen and Penzance and Manchester and Bournemouth, providing useful long distance links for touring cyclists.  They currently provide 4 cycle spaces on their 'Voyager' trains (admittedly on four poorly designed hanging brackets).  They now intend to introduce a limit of just 2 cycles on all their trains, despite adding several 'High Speed Trains' (HSTs) to their fleet with space for 6 cycles in each guards van.

For further information and how to take action, please click here.

Cycle-rail integration - CTC policy

CTC believes rail operators should promote travel by the cycle rail combination by providing:

1. Good cycle parking and storage facilities;
2. Good access to, from, through and within stations (e.g. including wheeling ramps);
3. Dedicated space for cycle carriage on trains, with additional 'flexible' capacity as required (e.g. tip-up seating);
4. Convenient ticketing and cycle reservation systems;
5. Information about and promotion of cycle-rail travel opportunities;
6. Consultation with cycle users and monitoring of the effectiveness of cycle-rail initiatives.

The benefits of the cycle-rail combination - to the travelling public, for public policy, for local economies and rail operators themselves - are summarised here.

In 2007 CTC campaigned for the Rail White Paper to provide a long-term framework for cycle-rail integration. Find out more here.