Hi,

I've been looking into taking my merlin malt on the eurostar with me for when i go to Eindhoven.

Has anyone used their bulky item baggage service? Could it be forwarded to an address in Eindhoven, or will it be left at Brussels Midi?

Or, have you had an issues taking it onto a Eurostar train with a reservation, and then onto the connecting Thalys train without a reservation?

What is bike security like on the carriages? Will it be easy to steal?

hope somebody knows
HR

Only partly helpful…. Bikes need to be booked on and packed away in a Eurostart standard sized bike bag. Bikes are stored in the luggage compartment at the end(s) of the trains. I understand you can send them separately and 'catch up later'. Not an option I would take.

I do know for certain, don't even think about taking a tandem on Eurostar/TGV. Yes you can get away with it occasionaly but eventually they will refuse travel which is a royal PIA if you are stuck in Montpellier…..

I take my road bike and mtb up and down on the Eurostar and TGV all the time. This might sound a bit agricultural, but I just nip the wheels off, shove the whole lot in bin bags, and leave the package in the normal luggage racks. No-one's mentioned anything in about 10-15 trips, and was also fine during the chaos over Christmas.

In the Eurostar t&cs, it does say something along the lines of 'if you can disassemble it to the size of a normal suitcase, you're ok to go'.

It's really very easy …

hi, yes i've read that tandems aren't allowed. I'd like to put my bike in the bike storage area, but i have to take a connection with Thalys and they will only let you bring a bike if you pack it suitcase/bag style. I would have liked to avoid this as i'm moving to eindhoven for 5 months and i'm taking a reasonable amount of kit with me… oh well!

It's good to hear that you haven't had much bother olaf-hansen. I think i'll be on the look out for some big suitcases, that way i can pad it out with clothes.

Any packing tips, or cheap bags for sale at the minute?

If you are going for 5 months, maybe worth hiring a one-way van and/or having it all shipped?

Not sure I could take 5 months worth of gear (including bike and gear), and carry it across a number of stations/trains/taxis…

i'm not old enough to hire a van 🙁 And i've checked ferries, but ferry-train transfers from europoort and zeebrugge are difficult.

The only other option is to fly, but i may aswell just break up my bike into tiny shards of metal to save ryanair the privilege!