Hi everyone,
I'm planning a trip that ends in Zagreb next month. I will go back to Switzerland by train but I don't know if my bike can travel free of charge if it's in a bag in the night jet between Zagreb and Zurich.
Does anyone has the answer ?
Thanks a lot,
Nicolas
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Yep. The airline. However, since you're not flying with your bike, it may likely be treated as cargo rather than checked baggage and, thus, incur a hefty fee. Why not take it with you on the train? Much simpler.
Hi,
Thanks a lot for your answer. I reckon my question was a bit unclear. By night jet, I meant the train line between Zagreb and Zurich. But I haven't found the information on the oebb website. It says that we there's no spot for bikes, but I don't know if it work as soon as the bike is in a bag.
Do you have experienced that ?
I thought that may have been your reference, but in English a jet is still a plane. The English term is simply "night train" or "overnight train."
However, I happened to have this long-forgotten website saved in my European Trains bookmarks: nightjet.com/en/#/home. It seems to be the one you're looking at. I plugged in several dates with a bicycle and each time was told there is no space for bikes or that they're all taken. Impossible to tell which one. A phone number is also listed. Best to call it.
Oddly, that website addresses taking a car or a motorcycle on the train, but not a bicycle. That, despite the fact that there's a checkbox for bicycles on the reservations page. So speak with an agent to be sure.
If you're carrying your disassembed bike in a bag as carry-on luggage, then you may be able to take it aboard with you (maybe not even in a bag) and put it in whatever luggage bin is available as opposed to putting it in a car designated to carry or hang assembled bicycles. I've taken my bike on trains all over Europe. Some systems don't care where you put the bike, including in an aisle full of passengers or in front of a door. Most European trains do have self-serve baggage cars however.
In 2014, I cycled around the Balkans, including Croatia. At the time, train service there was so sporadic and apparently unreliable (if in service at all) that I gave up the thought of traveling by train. Each country's rail service is a bit different, so alway speak with one or two agents knowledgeable about bikes on trains so you know what to expect. Some charge a fee, others don't.
Let me know what you find out.
Whoa, thanks a lot for all that information.
I have indeed called the Austrian train company that coordinates the night train throughout Europe and it seems that we can take a bike in those train as soon as it is disassembled in a bike bag.
That could be a good info for your next trips :)
I'll tell you if we get blocked on the platform by the agents :)
Well, if the Austrian Rail company is telling you that you must disassemble your bike in order to take it on board, then it's better that you're doing so at the end of your trip. Why disassembly is required at all is a question I would ask an agent.
No European rail service I have ever used requires disassembly or boxing of bikes. That's something you never want to do during a trip when, for example, traveling between cities to save time.
Amtrak, the U.S. passenger rail service, has for years required bikes to be boxed and is only now changing its policy for the better on many of its long distance routes and redesiging cars so that bikes can simply be rolled on board and strapped to a railing or hung in a designated car. European train service has always been decades ahead of Amtrak.
And yes, I'd be curious to know if you get arrested trying to sneak your bike on board!
Greetings,
From my experience, whenever my bike was wrapped up in a bag, I could carry it like a piece of luggage on to the train. I would pull the wheels and tie them to the center of the frame. Never worried about the pedals or handlebar.
Mind you, I never did this on a Croatian trains, but did so on French, German and English trains.
Hence, I can't imagine you having any issue. Yet, I never asked if my bike could be carried on to the train, simply treated it as my luggage, and no more.
Croatia was great riding during the fall, outside of the tourist season.
Enjoy,
Peter