Train company to invest in station cycle facilities

The UK Transport Secretary’s recent comments about the lack of cycling storage facilities in London following a tour of the capital by bike appear to have struck a chord with South West Trains, who have announced plans for major improvements at two stations.

Lord Adonis will be pleased to see the company is to invest ‘hundreds of thousands of pounds’ in schemes at Surbiton and Richmond.

At Surbiton the rail company is to build a secure compound for its existing 300-space bike park. Cyclists will only be able to get into the free compound to park or pick up bikes using a swipe card, for which they leave a deposit.

South West Trains hopes the compound will be open by the autumn. A spokeswoman said: "Surbiton is a very well-used station in terms of bikes, and we are hopeful that the new scheme will encourage ever more users."

SWT plans to set up a cycle hire facility in Richmond by the end of the summer in partnership with the council. At least 50 fold-up Brompton bikes would be available for a £100 deposit. Under its Smarter Travel scheme Richmond has set a target of an extra 3,000 people cycling a day. As we reported, earlier this year  South West Trains set up a similar folding bike hire scheme in partnership with Brompton at Waterloo station.