The Details
Note: Platform 1, is on the side of the station with the ticket office and the Station Hotel. The platform 1 side has exits to the start of the Caledonian Cycleway, Lovers Walk, and the junction of Lovers Walk and St Mary’s Street. Platform 2 exits to the roundabout where St Mary’s Street and Cornwall Mount meet. An accessible bridge and lifts between the platforms have now been installed at the station.
Where transport options are fully integrated between rail, bus, bike and car, greater distances can be covered sustainably. What happens once you’ve got your bike to the railway station is almost as important as how easy it is to cycle there. Secure bike and trike parking, decent signage and cycle facilities on the trains themselves all play their part here.
Secure Parking
At the north end of the platform 1 (the ticket office side), there is a double-decker cycle rack which can accommodate 42 conventional cycles. This is under cover and there is a CCTV camera covering it. However, there are no signs for this facility for cyclists arriving from the town – a “Cycle P” sign on the external wall or on the adjacent old sliding door would seem a simple fix for this. On platform 2 (the cafe side) there is a covered cycle shelter at the south end of the building which can accommodate 10 bikes and uses more conventional Sheffield stands. This is also covered by a CCTV camera, but would benefit from signage on the platform and at the entrance to to the station car park.
The double-decker parking design provides plenty of space but is awkward and not very intuitive to use. It is also not possible to use these racks with any kind of non-standard cycle such as a trike, cargo bike, or even some mountain bikes. This leads many cyclists to attach their bikes to the temporary barriers nearby. Adding more conventional Sheffield style stands would offer options to all kinds of bike user.
Information and Signage
When leaving the station a lack of signage means that our best cycling infrastructure is overlooked. At minimum, the town centre route via Newall Terrace, and connections to the Maxwelltown and Caledonian paths should be signed. This would highlight traffic-free routes to the Infirmary and, for visitors, the virtually traffic-free route from the station to Mabie Forest, and a very family friendly one from the station to Ae.
Information posters advising passengers of “station facilities” and “onward travel information” for passengers arriving from Carlisle and the south (platform 1) are located at the south end of the main station building, away from the ticket office door, and so perhaps not immediately obvious to all passengers. This is complicated by there being three exits from this platform – through the ticket office and at both ends of the building. There is no information at the exit at the north end of the building, at the cycle racks. On the platform side of the building near the ticket office is a plan of Dumfries town centre. There are no station information posters on platform 2, i.e. for trains arriving from Glasgow and the north. There are two exits from this platform, at either end of the building. There are currently two local maps, within the station building, opposite the ticket office on the west side of the station. These are very small and above head height for many passengers and inaccessible for anyone in a wheelchair. The onward travel information poster includes a general OS map and advice that a local cycle route is adjacent to the station and that the town centre is a five minute walk away. The map does not include any specific active travel routes. Displaying copies of the council’s active travel map for Dumfries alongside the existing station information posters would be helpful and should be repeated at every exit.
Direction signage outside the station is limited to a cast iron finger post sign assembly near the ticket office exit from platform 1, with nothing outside platform 2. One of the finger posts is for “Town centre” but it is unclear if this is for the route via English Street or the one via Newall Terrace. Either way, there are no further signs for pedestrians or cyclists once they’ve left the station, except for the overgrown sign at the entrance to the Caledonian Cycleway. Signs along the route between the station and the town centre (and vice versa) via Newall Terrace would be helpful to visitors using the station and an easy, quick improvement to encourage active travel.
Travelling With Your Bike
Once on the train, there are spaces for six bikes for every two carriages; many services are just two carriages, but busier trains sometimes have four carriages, and hence space for 12 bikes. This is more generous than most trains, which normally only have two spaces per train and often require you to book in advance. The bike spaces do not compete with wheelchair or buggy space, or with luggage space, so are usually left clear by other passengers. On the downside, you are required to lift your bike and hang it by the back wheel. This is impossible for many people, especially those using e-bikes or adaptive cycles, or who are physically disabled, or just don’t have the upper body strength to manage. Scotrail have recently brought in generous cycle carriages to their Highland Explorer route which show what can be done without requiring bikes to be hung up on hooks. Using this style of carriage as standard on the Glasgow-Dumfries-Carlisle route would be a significant improvement.
