Denmark has a reasonable good rail network that serves most of the country, although like us in the UK they have lost a few of their rural railway lines. It is perfectly feasible to take your bikes on the majority of Danish trains, we have used it several times (in fact it is the only way to get from Fyn to West Zealand if you are intending to cross at Kørsor or Nyborg as there is no ferry anymore and you are not allowed to cycle over the new bridge). We found that most of the information & ticket offices in the stations were quite helpful and most spoke good English.

Tickets

All the stations we encountered had either a ticket office or ticket machines to buy tickets. The ticket machines had the option for instructions in English and took either cash or credit cards. If you are using the local and inter city trains you will need to purchase a separate ticket for your cycle, the price of the bike ticket will depend on the number of zones you cross on your journey. If you are using the S-trains then the bikes go free. If you are going any distance between May 1st and August 31st DSB recommend that you book spaces for yourselves and the bikes in advance as there are only a certain number of places for bicycles on the InterCity / InterCityLyn trains.

Most of the stations that we used had good access to the platforms for heavily laden touring cycles i.e. ramps & lifts etc. and there are special places reserved for cycles on the trains, these are clearly marked by cycle symbols on the doors. The local and S-trains are generally easy to get on and off. For the S-trains there is a space for cycles in the middle of the train and there is a door to get on with your bike and a door to exit the train with your bike, see this amusing You-tube video which explains how it works.

Problems

BUT when it came to getting on the InterCity trains !!!! (see picture left).

As you can see from the picture there are a massive 3 steps up to the carriage from the platform!

This is very much hernia inducing and back wrenching stuff so unless you wish to do yourself a mischief think about unhooking those panniers before the train arrives. The DSB recommends that you remove luggage from your cycles to conserve space inside the carriages anyway.

Cycle Trailers

Apparently cycle trailers can be transported as ordinary hand luggage as long as they measure no more than 100 x 60 x 30 cm when they are folded together and the wheels removed.

Tandems

We understand that it is possible to take tandems on certain trains. You can take them on the local trains and the InterCity / InterCityLyn trains and the cost would be the same as two bicycles. According to the DSB website tandems are not allowed on S-trains unless you are registered blind.

If you intend to travel with a tandem we recommend that you contact DSB (The Danish State Railways) Tel: +45 7013 1415 for more details and current regulations.

The DSB site has a handy route planner so you can workout routes and train times.