Taking your bicycle on Eurostar: cost, booking process and rules

The two Eurostar bike options

Eurostar offers two ways to take a bicycle on board, with different price points and different restrictions. Both must be booked in advance through the dedicated Eurostar Luggage Counter or by phone, separately from your passenger ticket booking. Bike spaces are not available through the standard online booking flow.

The reserved-space option is the most convenient: you keep your bike fully assembled, roll it onto the train, hang it on a hook in a dedicated bike carriage area. The dismantled option saves £5 but requires removing wheels and packing into a bag, adding 15 to 25 minutes either side of the journey. The folding-bike option is the cheapest at zero pounds, with the trade-off of needing a folding bike that meets the 120 cm hand-luggage rule when folded.

The 14-day booking rule

All Eurostar bike carriage (reserved or dismantled) requires booking at least 14 days ahead. There is no walk-up option, no "hope for space" option, no exception for off-peak trains. If you turn up at St Pancras with a bike and no advance bike booking, you cannot board with the bike. The 14-day rule exists because:

• Bike spaces are limited per train (typically 4 to 8 reserved spaces per service)
• Loading bikes at St Pancras requires Eurostar to allocate handling staff and a specific loading bay
• Border control at the destination station needs advance notice of bike cargo for the customs declaration

Book via the Eurostar Luggage Counter at eurostar.com or by calling Eurostar Customer Service. You will need your passenger booking reference, the bike dimensions, and the bike type. Payment is taken at the time of bike booking. You receive a separate bike-booking confirmation; bring it with you to the Eurostar luggage counter at St Pancras on travel day.

The reserved space: what to expect at the station

On travel day, arrive at St Pancras International at least 90 minutes before your booked departure (standard 60 minutes is not enough with a bike). Find the Eurostar Luggage Counter, which is signposted from the main Eurostar entrance off Pancras Road. Hand over your bike-booking confirmation. Staff will take the bike, label it, and load it onto your train at the dedicated bike carriage. You proceed through normal check-in and border control as a foot passenger.

At your destination station (Paris Gare du Nord, Brussels-Midi, Amsterdam Centraal, Rotterdam Centraal), collect your bike at the equivalent luggage counter. The bike is unloaded by station staff and held for collection. Bring your bike-booking confirmation to claim it. Total handling time at the destination is typically 15 to 25 minutes after the train arrives, depending on the queue.

The dismantled option: bag specifications and process

Dismantled bike carriage requires the bike to be packed in an approved bike bag with the wheels removed. Approved bag dimensions are under 120 cm in the longest dimension, under 90 cm in the second dimension, with no protruding parts. Most commercial bike bags (Evoc, B&W, Scicon Aerocomfort) meet this if packed without wheels. Cardboard bike boxes from your local bike shop also count if they fit the dimensions. Plastic-wrapped frames do not count; the bike must be in a fabric or structured bag, not loose plastic.

On travel day, bring the bagged bike to the Eurostar Luggage Counter as you would for a reserved space. Process is identical: hand over bike, receive label, collect at destination. The £5 saving versus the reserved space comes at the cost of needing to dismantle and reassemble at each end, which adds about 30 to 45 minutes to your journey. For a one-week tour where the bike is reassembled once, the saving is modest. For multiple short trips, the reserved space option is usually preferable.

Folding bikes: the free hand-luggage option

A folded Brompton, Birdy, or any folding bike under 120 cm in its folded state counts as standard hand luggage on Eurostar and costs nothing extra. You can take two hand-luggage items on Standard and Standard Premier (one folded bike plus one other hand-luggage piece), or three on Business Premier. The folded bike does not need to be in a bag (though most travellers use a cover for grip and to protect the train seats from chain oil).

This makes a folding bike the cheapest practical way to take a bike on Eurostar. A Brompton (61 cm folded) easily clears the 120 cm threshold. Larger folders (Tern, Dahon) sometimes do not fold compact enough to qualify; check the folded dimensions before relying on the hand-luggage approach. For a UK cyclist who travels regularly on Eurostar, a Brompton purchase pays back the £60 per round trip in dismantled bookings within 10 to 20 trips.

The Le Shuttle bicycle minibus alternative

For cyclists who would prefer not to use the train network, Le Shuttle operates a dedicated bicycle minibus shuttle from Folkestone to Coquelles. The service runs twice daily (typically 10:00 and 14:00 from Folkestone, 13:00 and 17:00 from Coquelles, with seasonal variation). Cost is £50 flat each way per cyclist with bike. Capacity is 6 cyclists with bikes per service.

The process: book in advance through Le Shuttle bookings. On travel day, arrive at the Cheriton terminal at least 30 minutes before the booked shuttle time. Le Shuttle staff load the bikes into the minibus. You ride in the minibus seats accompanying the bikes onto a standard Le Shuttle vehicle carriage. The crossing is the standard 35 minutes. At Coquelles, the minibus drives off and disembarks you at the equivalent of the foot passenger area. You then ride out of the terminal.

Pros versus Eurostar: cheaper than reserved Eurostar (£50 vs £60 round trip), drops you in Coquelles for onward EuroVelo route cycling (popular for tourists heading to the Calais coast or south to the Loire), no bike disassembly required. Cons: only two departures per day, limited capacity (sells out for popular dates), and you end up in Coquelles not central Paris or Brussels (which Eurostar provides). Best suited to cycle tourists doing a France or Belgium route from Calais.

E-bikes and bike accessories

E-bikes are accepted on Eurostar at the same rates as standard bikes. There is no battery removal requirement for lithium-ion batteries up to 300 Wh per battery (the standard size for most consumer e-bikes). Larger batteries (300 to 800 Wh, common on cargo e-bikes) need pre-approval from Eurostar Customer Service. Removable batteries should be carried with you in your hand luggage during the journey for safety.

Accessories like panniers and saddlebags must travel as separate hand luggage (within your normal allowance). They cannot be left attached to the bike during loading. Pumps, lights, helmets, and tools should be removed and packed in your hand-luggage bag. Pannier bags are bulky enough that they count against your two-item Standard hand-luggage allowance.

Continental cycle networks: where Eurostar bikers go

The European long-distance cycle network is dense and well-signposted. From Eurostar destinations, popular onward cycle routes include:

• EuroVelo 3 (the Pilgrims Route) from Norway through the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Spain. Connects to Eurostar at Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris.
• EuroVelo 5 (Via Romea Francigena) from London to Rome via Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Italy. Eurostar to Brussels or Paris is the standard first leg from London.
• EuroVelo 6 (Atlantic to Black Sea) across France via the Loire, connecting at Tours or Nantes from Paris.
• EuroVelo 15 (Rhine Cycle Route) from the Swiss Alps to the Dutch coast. Eurostar to Amsterdam puts you within reach of the northern end.
• LF route network in the Netherlands (the densest cycle network in Europe), accessed via Amsterdam or Rotterdam.

The Dutch cycle network in particular is renowned: dedicated cycle paths everywhere, cycle signposting throughout, bike-friendly accommodation. The combination of a Eurostar ticket to Amsterdam with bike booking, then a one to two week tour of the LF network, has become a standard summer trip for UK touring cyclists in the post-COVID era as flying with a bike became more expensive and more hassle.

Booking strategy for Eurostar bike travel

Bike spaces sell out faster than passenger tickets on the popular routes. Aim to book your passenger ticket as early as possible (180-day window opening), then book the bike space immediately after passenger confirmation. Do not wait until the 14-day deadline; on summer weekend departures, all 4 to 8 bike spaces are typically gone weeks in advance.

The dismantled option has slightly more flexibility than the reserved space because the train carries a larger handling capacity for bagged bikes than for assembled bikes (the assembled spaces are fixed-hardware hooks; the dismantled bikes fit in general luggage space). If reserved spaces are sold out, check dismantled availability before changing dates.