Europeans love trains and bicycles. Our dense railway and bike lanes networks provide for the most sustainable, flexible and efficient way to travel. The review of the legislation on rail passengers’ rights is a great opportunity to facilitate the combination of the two. With the #TrainsForCyclists campaign, the European Cyclists’ Federation and its members are calling on the European institutions to provide at least 8 spaces dedicated to bicycles on all new and refurbished trains.

The European Commission has the ambition to make Europe the first net-zero carbon emission continent by 2050, as highlighted in the European Green Deal. It has also stressed the importance of multimodality, particularly with regard to longer distances. With the recast of the EU Rail Passengers’ Rights and Obligations Regulation there is an excellent opportunity to make a significant step into the right direction by improving rail and bicycle solutions as an effective alternative to carbon-intensive car and plane trips.

“Enabling passeners to bring at least 8 bicycles on all new of refurbished trains in Europe would be more than commitment and ambition: it means taking action. The ECF and its members have long championed the benefits of combined rail and bicycle solutions as an effective low-carbon alternative to car and plane trips. Now it’s the time to provide concrete solutions to make it happen”, highlighted Ed Lancaster, ECF’s Senior Policy Officer.

Article 6 - Bicycles

All three European institutions have confirmed that passengers shall be ‘entitled’ to bring bicycles onboard the train. We support the European Parliament’s approach, the only one providing a road map to implement this entitlement:

Passengers shall be entitled to take bicycles on board the train, including on high speed, long-distance, cross border and local services. All new or refurbished passenger trains shall (…) include a well designated space for the carriage of assembled bicycles with a minimum of eight spaces

Transport accounts for 25% of the EUs greenhouse gas emissions and its share continues to grow - emissions have been increasing for the past 5 consecutive years. Shift policies aiming at increasing the level of cycling have proven to work and to be very cost-effective in reducing CO2 emissions. A German study estimated that 27.4% of the emissions of the transport sector could be saved through an integrated and multimodal approach.

ECF strongly believes that the combination of bicycle and train is the most efficient, flexible and sustainable combined mode of transport for inter-urban trips. 

“Bicycles and trains are among the greatest inventions of the 19th century. Both transport modes revolutionized personal travel and opened up the world to millions of European citizens. 200 years later, in a time of climate emergency, their role is perhaps more important than ever before. To maximise the benefits of both modes, railways should facilitate intermodal journeys by allowing passengers to bring bicycles on board of trains: the sum of the two modes combined is greater than their parts alone” stated Morten Kabell, co-CEO of the European Cyclists’ Federation.

We call on the European Parliament, European Commission and Council of the European Union to ensure that the revised EU Rail Passengers' Rights Regulation entitles passengers to take bicycles on board trains and that at least 8 bicycle spaces are available on all new or refurbished trains in Europe.