Cycling takes up too much space on trains and leads to delays, write Jesse Pappers and Sara Tori. The alternative? Shared bicycle schemes at railway stations.
The Belgian Chamber of Representatives has unanimously approved a resolution proposed by the socialist party Vooruitaimed at making it easier to combine cycling and train travel. In addition to better-secured bicycle parking facilities, the Chamber also wants taking bicycles on trains to become free of charge. The underlying idea — encouraging people to leave their cars at home — is commendable from a sustainability perspective. In practice, however, it is likely to have the opposite effect, worsening the service provided by NMBS. The resolution mainly serves to demonstrate that MPs take the sustainability transition seriously, rather than offering a well-considered rethink of the mobility system.
It is true that too many journeys in Belgium are still made by car. There are often valid reasons for this: bus routes have been discontinued or train stations are too far from people’s final destinations. For some journeys, combining cycling and rail travel offers a good alternative to driving: cycling to the station, taking the bike on the train and then cycling onwards to the destination. Figures from the NMBS confirm that this combination is becoming increasingly popular. Last year, more than 550,000 passengers took their bicycles on the train — an increase of 14 per cent compared with 2024. Yet further growth in those numbers is not necessarily desirable.
Anyone who has ever taken a bicycle on a train knows that space is limited. During rush hour, the shortage of space — for both bicycles and passengers — becomes particularly acute, which is why tickets are more expensive than during off-peak hours. Carrying even more bicycles will become physically impossible unless additional space is created on trains. But that can only be done by removing seats, which would hardly improve the quality of service. Bicycle compartments are also shared with passengers with reduced mobility and parents with pushchairs, who may find the space blocked by bicycles. In addition, boarding and alighting take longer for passengers with bicycles, especially on older trains without level boarding. As a result, punctuality at the NMBS is likely to decline. That is hardly the way to make rail travel an attractive alternative to the car: what motorist would choose a train that is delayed and offers no available seats?
A train journey to the Netherlands
There is no need to reinvent the wheel. In the Netherlands — a country renowned for cycling — bicycles are not allowed on trains during peak hours, precisely because of limited space and longer boarding times. Nor is it necessary there to take your bicycle on the train, as shared bicycles are available at every station to complete the final leg of the journey. In the Netherlands, commuters can cycle to the station using their own bike, board the train without it, and then use their travel pass to hire a shared bicycle upon arrival.
If the federal government genuinely wants to persuade people to swap their cars for trains, there are more effective ways to achieve this. Introduce road pricing: that would tax car use rather than car ownership, naturally reducing the number of kilometres driven. The revenue generated could then be invested in alternatives such as secure bicycle parking and shared bicycle systems. Belgian MPs are only a train ride away from seeing how it can be done properly. They are welcome to bring their bicycles too — provided they travel outside peak hours.