It’s got Wi-Fi, luggage storage and plush seating. One thing Toronto’s new airport train doesn’t have is bike racks.

Gary Dienesch found that out at the end of a 10-hour flight following a 1,000-km bike tour of England and Scotland.

When the computer programmer and his travel mate landed back in Toronto Sunday evening they had planned to ride home to North York from Pearson. But his friend had a migraine and they decided to skip the fraught bike trip from the airport and take the Union Pearson Express (UPX) downtown and ride from there instead.

At the UPX terminal at Pearson, however, they were told that they couldn’t board unless the bikes were boxed in the same way airlines require. The pedals had been removed and the handlebars turned for Dienesch’s flight. But he had reassembled them upon landing.

Instead of arguing, the travellers simply cycled home as originally planned. But Dienesch wondered why bringing bikes aboard was an issue since he’d just done it twice on trains in Scotland without incident.

“In both of those instances there’s no requirement to do anything to the bike. Our bikes were fully loaded with gear and everything,” he said, adding that he’s seen bikes on trains all over Europe.

“I know you can take your bike on the GO and the subway. You just hold your bike. It’s not a long trip (from the airport) to downtown so we would just hold our bikes like we would on the subway,” said Dienesch.

He doesn’t think bike racks on the UPX are necessary, particularly when the trains aren’t crowded.

“I’ve seen it done everywhere else. It’s not a big thing to do. I pay taxes, I’m paying for this. There should be a very good reason for me not to be able to use it and there isn’t a good reason because they’re doing it everywhere else.”

“Unlike GO trains, there is no dedicated or appropriate space to store and secure an unpacked bicycle,” said Alex Burke of Metrolinx, the provincial agency that operates the UPX.

“UP Express has special luggage racks to store packaged bicycles and make trips more comfortable for all passengers. Notably, foldable-style bicycles, once folded up, are allowed on all UP Express trains,” she said in an email to the Star.

While she said Metrolinx isn’t opposed to reviewing the UPX bike policy, “for the time being, the policy remains that bicycles are only allowed on board when packaged as they would be for flying.”

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