Rail Delivery Group

Cycle rail travel made easier for millions
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date 30 January 2015
source Rail Delivery Group
type Press release

Transport Minister Robert Goodwill MP this week marked the launch of a new online resource designed to make it easier for rail passengers to cycle to and from the station.

PlusBike is a new feature of National Rail Enquiries’ (NRE’s) online channels, and provides a one stop shop for comprehensive information on cycling facilities available at stations and on trains in Britain.

Developed by the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) and NRE, and funded by the Department for Transport, the new addition to NRE apps and web platforms will make it easier for both existing and new cycle-rail passengers to quickly find out about:

o The level of cycling facilities at any given station
o The number and type of cycle parking spaces
o Cycle hire facilities at the station, with the app providing a direct link to any existing hire scheme near to the station
o Cycle carriage on different train services

The Minister launched PlusBike in Cambridge, where work on the station’s new £2.5million CyclePoint officially got underway yesterday. CyclePoint will significantly improve cycle facilities for passengers using Cambridge station, which is one of Britain’s busiest regional stations. Scheduled for completion by the end of this year, it will include safe and secure parking for 3,000 cycles, a retail and repair facility and cycle hire, and will be the biggest facility of its kind in the UK. CyclePoint is a unique concept which aims to combine all the services cyclists need in a single onsite station facility.

Transport Minister Robert Goodwill said: “Cycling is great exercise and benefits the environment. The funding we have provided means Cambridge station can start work on some of the best cycling facilities in the country. The new PlusBike app will help people get information about their local facilities so they can plan ahead. Used together, bikes and rail can help reduce carbon, cut congestion and deliver real economic benefits so we want it to be as easy as possible for people to cycle to their local train station."

Conrad Haigh, Head of Integrated Transport at ATOC, said: “PlusBike and other improvements to online information will make it so much easier for passengers getting to and from stations by bicycle to be aware of new facilities, such as new cycle hubs like Cambridge. Together, both these show the industry’s dedication to improving the experience for those who want to combine bike and rail as part of their door to door journey, and encouraging more passengers to try this convenient, economical and environmentally friendly mode of travel.”

Jamie Burles, Managing Director, Abellio Greater Anglia said: “The start of works on the CyclePoint is a significant step in the project to improve facilities for rail passengers using Cambridge station, and I am particularly pleased to welcome the Transport Minister Robert Goodwill to officially mark the beginning of this exciting scheme, which confirms our commitment to sustainable forms of transport and the whole door to door journey.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. The PlusBike enhancements to NRE will bring information about cycle hire at stations to NRE’s online services, and will make cycle carriage information previously only available in the NRE phone apps accessible across all its online platforms. PlusBike is live on the NRE apps for Android and iPhone from today, and will be available on the NRE website and mobile channel in coming weeks.

Many of the providers of cycle hire are not directly linked to the rail industry and any issues related to hire arrangements should be raised directly with the specific provider.

National Rail Enquiries is the leading source of train travel information in the UK. Paid for and run by rail operators, around 500m people a year access its web channels and apps. For more information, visit www.nationalrail.co.uk.

2. Cambridge CyclePoint is funded through a partnership led by Brookgate and Network Rail, with and the Department for Transport and Cambridgeshire County Council. It will be built by contractor Galliford Try as part of a new hotel building next to the station, and forms one of the first key customer benefits of the wider CB1 and Station Square development at Cambridge station. This project will see new housing, offices and retail to supplement the much improved station facilities, all of which will transform the environment of the station and surrounding areas. Cambridge is the second East Anglian station to benefit from CyclePoint; Chelmsford Cyclepoint opened in 2013, with parking for 1,000 cycles.

3. The Abellio Greater Anglia franchise began operating on 5 February 2012. It provides intercity, commuter and rural services throughout the region including the Stansted Express service. Abellio Greater Anglia is responsible for almost 3,000 employees and operates 1,900 train services per day. It services 167 stations and carries two million passengers a week.

Abellio is an international transport company which delivers rail and bus services to more than a million passengers daily in UK, Germany and the Czech Republic. In the UK, Abellio operates rail companies Merseyrail, Northern Rail (both in a joint venture with Serco), Abellio Greater Anglia and bus companies Abellio London and Surrey. Visit www.abellio.com for more information.

Railhub Archive ::: 2015-01-30 RDG-001