Can I just take a bike on a train?
Do they charge extra -the National Rail website is not that clear.
thanks

I’ve not been charged extra on any train.

However, spaces are usually limited and you should book ahead where possible. This will normally have to be done by phone and can be a bit of a nightmare.

Different rules for different operators. You’ll need to check the website of the train company you’re travelling with.

If it helps any I’ve found that local services are usually fine, probably need to take an action though if it’s a cross-country or long distance journey.

It’s a nightmare. In Belgium (getting home from ssec) and southern England they have sold 8 tickets to guys with bikes and then only allowed three bikes on at a time, if there were not any bikes ready on the train.

Every f***ing time we have had to negotiate and sometimes it’s been a case of “gotta get off at the next station, there are too many if you” and then I explain that we will take the wheels off and I will be one guy with ten wheels and you have a bunch of guys with frames and no one here has a bike.

Also blocking strategies to make sure you are first on before other cyclists helps.

It’s a lottery where you need to fight.

There’s a useful guide here, it covers most UK train companies: http://www.atob.org.uk/Bike_Rail.html

You can book bike spaces online if you buy your tickets through the East Coast website.
Though usually you can’t make reservations for local trains, you just have to turn up and hope there’s space. Its the long distance trains where you should book in advance.

most train operators are ok and you can often blag your way on if you’re there early, pleasant and civil.
virgin are the worst – always some tin-pot hitler train manager brandishing their H&S manual of lies.