Transporting long bike by train in Austria/Hungary

Hi all,

I'm planning a bike ride in eastern Europe this summer, and I have a question about transporting
my bike by train. Ideally, I would like to travel back by train to Switzerland from either Vienna
or Budapest. The problem is that my bike is a long wheel base recumbent, and is 2m long.

Does anybody have experience riding trains with such a long bike
(i.e. a tandem or long recumbent) in these countries? Would it be easier from Vienna or Budapest?

I have looked at the Austrian train company web site, and apparently they accept bikes on (most)
trains. Using the Deutsche Bahn web site, I was also able to see that there are (fast) trains from
Vienna to Switzerland which accept bikes. My question is therefore really about the length of the
bike, because it cannot be hung vertically by its front wheel, for example, which means it might
not fit in whatever bike racks one finds in Austrian trains.

One last thing: I would like to travel *with* my bike, instead of sending it separately, as fas
as possible.

Thanks, Michel.

 

I would ask the Austrian National Tourist Office by writing to them a 'snail-mail' letter. I am sure
they will respond promptly.

Sergio Pisa

 

I took my bike on Austrian trains last October. I took trains from Vienna to Salzburg, Salzburg to
Zell am See, and from Zell to Krimml. I then cycled back to Vienna (see my photos at
http://webhome.idirect.com/~brown/austria1.htm ).

If they are not busy you should have no problem. A couple of times I had the only bike so I left it
horizontal and held it with a shock cord to the rack. However that may not be possible if there are
other bikes.

If your wheel base is 2 m long then it might still be possible to hang it vertically, it would just
stick a little way out. It might not be too stable, though. The longer-distance trains have a
separate baggage area and it should not be a problem to stick out a bit, but the short-distance
trains have just an area at the end of a car and your bike could block the aisle.

My advice: go for it and something will be worked out. I always loaded my bike onto the train and
was the one to secure it, then I found a seat nearby.

Ken Michel Schinz <[email protected]> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I'm planning a bike ride in eastern Europe this summer, and I have a question about transporting
> my bike by train. Ideally, I would like to travel back by train to Switzerland from either Vienna
> or Budapest. The problem is that my bike is a long wheel base recumbent, and is 2m long.
>
> Does anybody have experience riding trains with such a long bike
>(i.e. a tandem or long recumbent) in these countries? Would it be easier from Vienna or Budapest?
>
> I have looked at the Austrian train company web site, and apparently they accept bikes on (most)
> trains. Using the Deutsche Bahn web site, I was also able to see that there are (fast) trains
> from Vienna to Switzerland which accept bikes. My question is therefore really about the length
> of the bike, because it cannot be hung vertically by its front wheel, for example, which means it
> might not fit in whatever bike racks one finds in Austrian trains.
>
> One last thing: I would like to travel *with* my bike, instead of sending it separately, as fas
> as possible.
>
>Thanks, Michel.

Ken Brown, Toronto Canada Ontario Rail Trails: http://webhome.idirect.com/~brown delete "nospam" if
replying via e-mail