Heuston Station have warned customers that a peak-time bicycle policy, restricting access to trains for bikes, is going to be fully enforced.

Iarnród Éireann have implemented a programme “to ensure strict application of existing bicycle policies at peak times, in order to ensure safety and following customer feedback”.

Iarnród Éireann have since advised that bicycles will not be permitted on services arriving into Heuston station from 7 to 9am or services departing from Heuston station from 4 to 7pm from Monday to Friday “unless the bicycle is booked on intercity services in advance online”.

Conal Mahon is a student living in Portarlington who commutes to Heuston in order to get to college in Dublin. He uses his bike to cycle from the station to Trinity.

He said: “They’ve always said not to do it really, but now it’s going to be enforced. I’ve never really felt comfortable bringing it [the bike] on anyway because people would look at you, realising you’re taking away any space they have. It’ll be tougher getting into college anyway, I’ll just have to get up earlier I suppose.”

However, coinciding with this, reservations for bicycle spaces on intercity services will now be free with tickets or reservations that are booked online. Previously, this set people back €6 every time they wanted to bring a bike on board.

A spokesman for Iarnród Éireann said: “We have done this in response to consistent feedback from customers. We are providing greater clarity on the carriage of bicycles for the benefit of cyclists and non-cyclists alike.

“Our customers had complained that cyclists who had not been observing our peak restrictions were reducing capacity on peak services in and out, as well as blocking the safe entrance and exit of trains, and stopping movement within carriages. This policy will be strictly enforced from Monday, and this will be extended to all routes in due course.”

Photo: William Murphy/ Flickr