Can you take bikes on trains in the UK and Europe?

TER Trains

The great thing about most TER trains is that you can take your bike on board free of charge, whether it's foldable or not, subject to the number of seats available. TER trains have a dedicated area for bikes. You may need to reserve in advance for some TER trains, depending on the region. Note that certain restrictions may apply during rush hours and at weekends: Monday to Friday, from 7am to 9 am and from 4.30 pm to 6.30 pm.      

INTERCITÉS trains

To travel with your bike, it is mandatory to reserve a bike space when booking your train ticket. The rates are :

• 10€ per bike and per trip on INTERCITÉS trains with mandatory reservation for day and night
• 5€ per bike and per trip on non-mandatory reservation INTERCITÉS trains Toulouse-Hendaye, Nantes-Lyon, and Nantes-Bordeaux
• Free on non-mandatory reservation INTERCITÉS trains Clermont-Béziers 

TGV INOUI

You can also combine a journey by bicycle and TGV INOUI. There are various options:

• Your folding bike (if folded up) can travel with you as hand luggage as long as it's no bigger than 130 cm x 90 cm once folded.
• Your disassembled bike in a 130 cm x 90 cm case can travel with you free of charge, and no reservation is needed. Disassembled bikes must go in the luggage area.
• Non-disassembled bikes must be put in a specific place. There is a €10 charge per bike and per journey

Please note: some bikes like tricycles, tandems and cargo bikes are not allowed on board. A service like Mes Bagages can help you get your bike to your destination.

Finally, you can travel on a TGV INOUI train with a scooter as long as it is no bigger than 130 cm x 90 cm (same requirement as for bikes).

TGV Lyria & TGV INOUI Spain

Do you need to travel with your bike? Don't worry, their transport is free under certain conditions:

• Transporting your bike: it must be dismantled and stored in a case no larger than 120 x 90 cm. The same rules apply to scooters, electric or not.

TGV INOUI Italy

You can travel with a bike on board the TGV INOUI to Italy. It's free of charge and doesn't require a reservation, provided that it's foldable and can be stored in the luggage compartment, or dismantled, folded and stored in a special bag. The maximum dimensions allowed are 1.30 m by 0.90 m.

AVE, Long Distance and Avant
You can bring fold-up bikes and dismantled bikes in bags as part of your luggage, free of charge, if they are inside a carrying case with dimensions not exceeding 120 x 90 x 40 cm. 

Sleeper trains
You can bring bikes for free but they are only allowed in sleeping compartments. No more than two per compartment on the condition that the compartment is sold as a family room and the bikes are properly packed and measure no more than 120 x 90 cm.

Conventional Medium Distance, Suburban and Metric Gauge trains
Folding bicycles do not need to be transported inside a carrying case. On conventional Medium Distance and Metric Gauge (Medium Distance) trains, the cost for transporting a bicycle is €3 for journeys exceeding 100 km. For journeys of less than 100 km on these trains, transport is free of charge.

There is a limit of one bicycle per passenger and only on conventional Medium Distance, Suburban and Metric Gauge trains under the following conditions:

• Without a reserved seat:
  There may be a limit of two bicycles per train. For services that do not establish a limit on the number of bicycles per train, the only limitation is that bicycles must not disturb other passengers.
  
• With a reserved seat:
  There is a limit of two bicycles per train. They will only be allowed on trains that have a space or specific area for bicycle transport, and therefore the number of bicycles per train is limited.

Trenitalia

Regionale Trenitalia trains
Assembled bikes can be taken on regional Trenitalia services, but you will require a reservation which we are currently unable to offer. If you wish to take on board an assembled bike, you will have to make your reservation directly with Trenitalia.

You can bring a folded bike in Second Class if it's in a bike bag.

Domestic Trenitalia trains
You may take your bike on any domestic Trenitalia service if it is folded, stored in a bike bag and will fit in the luggage compartments on board. 

International Trenitalia trains
Unfortunately we don't offer reservations for assembled bikes on international Trenitalia trains. If you're travelling with an assembled bike, you must book directly with Trenitalia.

Italo

You can bring any bike that can be folded into a bag of dimensions are 120 x 90cm or less on board Italo trains, free of charge. Italo permits two items of luggage per passenger. A bike bag will count as one of the two permitted items of baggage.

On ICE trains
Bicycles are only permitted on ICE 4 trains operating between Hamburg and Munich with a reservation. Unfortunately we can't sell German bicycle reservations, so you will have to book directly with Deutsche Bahn.

For all other ICE trains, fold-up bikes and dismantled bikes in bags are permitted free of charge as part of your luggage allowance.

On Eurocity and Intercity trains
You can take your bike on all Intercity and Eurocity trains within Germany with a reservation. Unfortunately we can't sell German bicycle reservations, so you will have to book directly with Deutsche Bahn.

On trains between Italy, Austria and Germany
Folding bikes and bicycles that have been dismantled do not need a reservation if they are in a bicycle bag that can fit above or underneath your seat.

Fully assembled bikes must have a reservation; Rail Europe does not currently offer bike reservations for these trains so you should book directly with the rail operator.

You can take your bicycle along on most local and long-distance trains. Within Austria, you will need a special bicycle ticket (booked directly with ÖBB) which costs 10% of a full price ticket 2nd class for the route. 

Regional, Regional Express, S-Bahn

You can bring your bike on local transport, and do not need a reservation. On these trains, it is not possible to reserve a space for your bicycle.

Railjet, Intercity, Eurocity, Nightjet

You'll need to reserve a space for your bike on long-distance Austrian trains. You'll need to make these reservations directly with ÖBB. 

InterCity Brussels

Folding bicycles are permitted for free but must be folded and packed and stored with other luggage. 

You can bring a bike on Intercity Brussels trains, but you'll need an international bicycle ticket that costs about €12.00 one-way. We can't currently offer these tickets on Rail Europe. 

Thalys

Travelling between Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and Germany

To prioritise the comfort of our customers and maximise the space on our trains, bicycles are only allowed on these routes in limited numbers and under certain conditions. Both wheels must be removed and everything must be covered by a non-rigid cover with maximum dimensions of 135 x 85 x 30 cm.

Any bicycle that isn’t packed in this way will be refused by the Train Manager and not allowed on board. If your bike is travelling with you, please be on the platform 30 minutes before the scheduled departure.

We treat folding bicycles as standard luggage items as long as the maximum dimensions when folded do not exceed 75 x 53 x 30 cm.

You'll need to buy a ticket for any non-folding or dissembled bikes on trains in the Netherlands, but it is not yet possible to book these online. Please contact NS International Service Center.

Folding bicycles

Folding bikes are permitted on any Eurostar train, but they must be smaller than 85cm when folded and in a case. There's no need to pre-book a reservation for this bicycle type.

Fully-assembled bicycles (over 85cm)

Fully-assembled bicycles must be booked with Eurostar's luggage service, EuroDespatch. You can contact EuroDespatch on +44 (0) 844 822 5822 or by email at eurodespatch@eurostar.com.

You can bring fully-assembled bikes on most direct Eurostar services to/from London, Paris and Brussels. From London to Amsterdam, its only possible to travel with your bike on the 08:31 service departing from St Pancras International. Full details and a list of fees can be found on Eurostar's website.

Dismantled bicycles in a travel box/bag 

Bicycles packed into a travel bag or box can travel with EuroDespatch to/from London, Brussels, Paris and Lille. Full details and a list of fees can be found on Eurostar's website.

In all cases, bicycles travelling as registered luggage must be booked separately with EuroDespatch. You can contact EuroDespatch on +44 (0) 844 822 5822 or by email at eurodespatch@eurostar.com.

Electric scooters (e-scooters) or hoverboards are not permitted.

Bikes between London and Paris

Your bike will need to be disassembled and stored in a bike box/bag. We’re looking for a solution to be able to accept fully assembled bikes in the future, but we can’t commit to a date at this point.

Before you book your ticket with Rail Europe:

• Please note that EuroDespatch services are not available on all routes. See Eurostar's website for more information.
• In all cases we advise that you contact EuroDespatch to check storage availability before booking a ticket on Rail Europe because it isn't possible to check Eurostar's storage availability during the booking process. 
• Eurostar have limited registered luggage and/or bicycle storage space on all services, especially to Amsterdam/Lille, so it may not be possible to book your bike on the same train as you are travelling on.
• If the storage spaces are full on your train you can send your bicycle on an earlier or later service if necessary. Please note that Eurostar have their own luggage/bike storage facilities In Paris, London and Brussels. They use MacBike's premises to store bicycles sent to Amsterdam.
• You may need to allow extra time to drop-off and collect your bicycle, especially when you have connecting trains for onward travel.

Renfe-SNCF permit the carriage of dismantled bikes providing they are fully dismantled and inside a carrying case, the dimensions of which do not exceed 120x90cmx40cm. There is no charge for taking a bike as luggage in this way.