All trains may soon have space to carry cycles, thanks to an initiative by the European Parliament.
The ideas are in a European Union rail package which attepts to give passengers some clearly defined rights.
The proposals have not yet made it all the way through the European legislative process but could be enacted by 2008 for international services.
The EU looks set to give national and local train operators at least five to eight years to comply with the law.
Sadly the train operators are already lobbying against the proposal and the European Commission has been persuaded to drop the proposal from the “third railway package”.
So if you feel strongly that all trains should have space for bikes, it would be a good idea to lobby your own MEP to stand firm when they discuss the proposals early in 2007.
A full list of MEPs can be found at www.europarl.org.uk/uk_meps/MembersMain.htm