A new cycle reservation system has been introduced by East Midlands Railway (EMR) that will make it quicker and easier for customers to book a space for a bicycle on its trains.

East Midlands Railway carried out a consultation with customers that identified the need for a significant improvement in reservation procedures so that the process of buying a ticket and reserving a cycle space could be integrated into a single seamless operation.

As well as booking a bike space, customers can also use the new system to see whether spaces are available on a specific train and lets them know how many spaces are still available.

Reservations of cycle spaces are essential for the following East Midlands Railway routes:

• Services to and from London, except for Connect trains between Corby and London St Pancras.
• Services between Liverpool and Norwich. However, during the summer months from June to September, there will be a limited number of cycle spaces on these services.

On EMR Connect trains between Corby and London St Pancras, there are no dedicated cycle storage spaces. Full-size bicycles are not permitted on EMR Connect trains on weekdays that arrive at London St Pancras International before 10:00 or depart between 16:00 and 19:00.

Outside of these times, customers can travel with their full-size bike, but it must be stored in the vestibule area and customers must stay with it throughout their journey. Folding bikes can be carried at any time, but must stay folded and stowed safely throughout the journey.

Neil Grabham, Customer Services Director at East Midlands Railway, said: ” As part of our commitment to sustainability, we want to make it as easy as possible for customers to safely take their bike on our train services.

“This new system makes booking a bike space much quicker and is already proving popular with our customers.”