New bike-friendly train stops in Oban
A piper, local cyclists and official dignitaries gathered at Oban railway station to herald the arrival of a new era of train travel for the UK.
After two years of development involving a host of agencies, ScotRail’s Highland Explorer, the first of five trains to be fitted out with a new dedicated ‘active travel carriage,’ pulled in on Monday afternoon.
The spacious area makes it a cinch for visitors to store a range of different sized bikes and bulky hiking equipment, as well as incentivising them to leave the car at home. It also features tables showing popular cycling routes across Argyll and Bute.
Just before 2pm, the service, which will run twice a day along the West Highland Line from Glasgow Queen Street, made its first stop in Oban.
It was met by local piper Jamie MacGregor; Bid4Oban chief Andy Spence; Carron Tobin of the Argyll and the Isles Tourism Co-operative; and Councillor Elaine Robertson, of Argyll and Bute Council.
Joining the welcoming party were members of North Argyll Cycle Club, which has helped with the project, including local cyclists Moira and Ruaridh Newiss, of Connel; and Steven Groom, who lives near Benderloch.
Among the throng of cyclists getting off was Markus Stitz, founder of Bikepacking
Scotland, who helped with the initiative, and declared the carriage ‘great’ and the journey ‘lovely’.
Sustrans, working with Scotrail and AITC have produced Rail & Trail, a new initiative promoting leisure cycling and the Caledonia Way from the railway.
Visit railandtrail.co.uk
For more information about routes go to:
www.visitscotland.com/ see-do/active/cycling/ sustrans-cycle-map
www.komoot.com/ user/2184913606963
bikepackingscotland.com/ argyll/