nothing you didnt know and the comments depress me but anyway

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/green-living-blog/2009/oct/26/bike-train

"UK in clueless public transport policy shocker…"

I commute by train and 700c bike all the time and just take it on as and when, never had a problem.

i looked a few times at a Rochdale to Warrington commute with a bike to transfer in the middle but with the prospect of only 2 bike spaces no booking and being turned away unless I left my very nice bike in some not very nice places i kept driving

I regularly take bikes on trains when i go away for the weekend. Primarily Virgin West Coast and East Coast Mainline. It used to be that you just rocked up, jumped on with bike and went, but since the middle of the year I've always been asked for reservations, East Coast won't let you on at all without a reservation.

The Virgin Pendolinos are a pain because you can't open the luggage compartment without a member of staff. If you don't have a reservation, they won't turn up to let you out, and as I found out yesterday, if you do have a reservation, sometimes they won't let you out. Fortunately the train terminated at Preston, or I'd have been fuming, but having my bike locked on did mean I missed my connection.

The swines!

bad experience
Sheffield to Newcastle – nearly an hour to do the reservation and had to go to the station so actually 2 hours – when i got on the train the guard (or customer services manager?) told me i might have to get off at Leeds – showed him reservation and said i'd picked the early train because it was a thru train – he looked at reservation and said again "you might have to get off" and then walked off

Plymouth – Barnstaple 2 changes and can't book the last section so we'd have ridden if we couldn't get on train
anyhow we chat to railway employee as we stand on platform train arrives lots of people standing – a proper crush – turns out guy we've been chatting to was taking over driving the train so he gets on and shouts "all move up we've got to get these bikes on"
very nice indeed