Train Travel With Gear Shouldn’t Be a Threat to the Planet (Or Your Sanity)

Picture this: I’m halfway across France, boarding a train to head to the mountains, when the conductor drops a bombshell - my snowboard bag isn’t allowed. That would be a problem.

I had taken my board on trains at least ten times before, but that was my sudden introduction to the fact that the French train operator, SNCF, had just banned snowboards over 130cm. I may have recently invested in the shortest board I’ve ever owned (a swallowtail powder board), but spoiler alert: it’s still not remotely that short. Luckily, a frantic search on the SNCF website yielded an outdated English page stating they were allowed. I showed it to the conductor, they backed off, and I kept my gear.

But the anxiety of traveling with outdoor gear doesn't stop at the border. Got there in the end

I’ve taken my mountain bike as far as Leeds from my home in Bristol, but the wheels and handlebars rarely fit the provided hooks. I spend the whole journey worrying that a train manager is going to kick me off. I’d love to take my bike up to Scotland for my regular work visits, but reserving a bike space early enough has proven near impossible. Meanwhile, surfboards have long been banned on my local GWR trains, which is a massive hurdle when Devon and Cornwall are my primary destinations.

This logistical nightmare is incredibly frustrating because I know the number one cause of climate emissions from our sports is the travel. If I flew or drove instead, my travel impact would be 5 to 10 times higher.

We constantly hear from people who want to use public transport. At practically every event Protect Our Winters UK (POW UK) speaks at, a massive chunk of the Q&A revolves around train travel blockers. Whenever we talk to athletes who want to speak out about the climate but feel too intimidated to do so, it's usually because they fly or own a van. But if people are threatened with a fine or kicked off a train every time they try to travel sustainably, public transport isn't exactly a viable alternative.

That’s why I’ve spent the last year researching these transport barriers and coming up with recommendations to solve them. This has evolved into our latest campaign: Clean Miles.

We surveyed almost 1,000 members of our community and collaborated with other NGOs to identify exactly where the bottlenecks are and where our needs align. We’ve also been looking outward to see how other countries are solving this. I have fond memories of a mountain biking trip in Austria where three of us just wheeled e-bikes straight onto the train and strapped them to the side. No stress, no problem. Why can't things be like that here?

We’ve just released our Clean Miles Report, detailing our findings and recommendations. The response has been incredible: we have strong backing from 49 supporting organizations - from NGOs to travel companies - and over 1,800 people have already signed our petition.

Now, we need to push these specific asks to the government and the train operators. The timing couldn't be better. With UK rail networks currently undergoing nationalisation, the rules are up in the air. But no one is going to fix this for us; we have to fight for our right to get around sustainably.

Learn more about our Clean Miles campaign here.