Jason Stockman Photo

The cars on Caltrain (pictured), California?s mass transit system, have plenty of space for bikes. New Metro-North cars won?t.

The bike rack at New Haven's Union Station is always full. There might be fewer bikes there if Metro-North trains allowed them onboard during peak hours.

But Metro North and Connecticut's Commuter Rail Council say space should be reserved for passengers, not bikes, on crowded rush hour trains. That spells trouble for inter-modal commuters who wish to travel by rail and bike to work.

The new Metro-North train cars on order, 300 M8 models, are being designed to accommodate two bikes per car, but only during off-peak train hours. When cyclists were promised a spot for their bikes on the trains, they assumed that it meant any time of day. That misunderstanding has cycling advocates peeved.

Last fall, Connecticut's rail administrator, Gene Colonese, e-mailed New Haven cyclist Hunter Smith, saying "the new M8 rail cars that will begin to appear on the New Haven Line in 2009 are being designed to accommodate bicycles." He didn't mention the no-bikes-during-peak-hours limitation.

Metro-North charges $5 for a lifetime bike permit, but allows them on trains on weekdays only from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and after 8 p.m. There's no bike access on holidays and restricted access on the days before and after. None of this will change with the new rail cars.

"As you know, peak hours are crowded and a bike takes up a significant amount of space that can be occupied by a human being," says Metro-North spokeswoman Marjorie Anders. "Until such time when our trains are not crowded, bikes will not be allowed."

"People are spending $350, $400 a month and they're standing," says Commuter Rail Council president Jim Cameron, who commutes daily from Darien to New York. "If there's no more room for passengers, how could there be room for bikes?" Cameron suggests revisting the issue in 2012, when all the M8s are scheduled to come online.

But cyclists want change now. New Haven cyclist Jason Stockmann says, "It would be very shortsighted for Metro-North not to take the next step and reduce our dependency on automobiles now."

Cyclists want to ride the train with their bikes instead of driving to the station, or looking for scant bike parking at the station. Some commuters work in offices too far to walk to from stations, but close enough to cycle to, says Stockman. Others want to ride to save on gas or lessen their carbon footprint.

In March cyclists attended a public hearing in Metro-North's Grand Central headquarters to ask for bike access on peak trains, but were refused. ECC's concerns did, however, alert state Rep. Mary Mushinsky, D-Wallingford, who's looking to force the issue by adding a bikes-on-trains amendment to a transportation bill in the state legislature.

"People would make that decision if they knew they could take their bike at each end of the trip," says Mushinsky. "It would allow them to leave their car at home and ease up congestion on our roads."

Mushinsky suggests bikes be allowed only on a few morning and evening trains. Others suggest storing bikes, like luggage or strollers, in the overhead compartments, or adding fold-up seats that double as bike parking, like those on trains in Germany. Another idea would require cyclists to reserve a spot on the train, which would also give Metro-North statistics on how many cyclists commute via rail.

Several other states' train systems, including California and Oregon, embrace bikes. "We're just a little behind some of these other cities, but we will get there," Mushinsky says. ¦

byagla@newhavenadvocate.com