Cyclists should a quality D-lock attaching the frame and one wheel to the bike stand, and a second lock securing the second wheel to the frame - more pictures below

Press release - 28 February 2025 09:37

MP hails St Albans City station bike safety event 'a fantastic opportunity'

Cyclists in St Albans have made the most of free bike marking, safety advice and a service worth £40 at an event organised by Thameslink on Wednesday evening.

The country’s largest train operator, Govia Thameslink Railway, organised the event with the British Transport Police and Hertfordshire Constabulary in response to bike theft concerns, empowering cyclists with the tools and knowledge to boost security and stay safe.

St Albans MP Daisy Cooper hailed the event as a success and encouraged bike owners to mark and register their bikes.

St Albans City is one of the best-equipped stations for cyclists in the country – with 1150 spaces – many kept behind a fence and locked gate, accessible only by cyclists registered on the station’s Cycle Hub scheme.

Cyclist John Templeton, 55, dropped by the stand at St Albans City station after seeing an advert for the event online – and after having one bike serviced and registered, he came back with another.

“It’s a great event, and really good of the railway to host it, as I always cycle to the station,” the TV cameraman said.

“Having the service was a bonus, I wasn’t expecting that. If there’s a small chance of your bike coming back after being registered then that is great.”

John Templeton with his bike at the event in St Albans

St Albans City station manager Marc Asamoah said: “It was great to see so many people make the most of the session and I’d like to thank the teams for turning out to help more commuters choose a greener option when travelling to our station.”

St Albans Neighbourhood Policing Sergeant Simon Totten said: “We have been working with Thameslink and BTP to help reduce thefts of bicycles at the train station. We security marked 20 bikes on Wednesday evening.

“One of the best ways to prevent a thief stealing your bike is to use two locks – including one which should be a D-lock. Lock the frame and both wheels to a secure cycle stand and register the frame number. This makes it more likely to get your bike back, if it is stolen and helps deter opportunist thieves.”

Bike mechanic Ethan Masih was also on hand to give bikes a free service worth £40 before they hit the road back home during the busy evening commute.

There are additional safety events being held at Brighton, Littlehampton and Burgess Hill in the coming weeks.

Mechanic Ethan greasing up a bike chain outside the station

Thameslink’s head of security and policing, Mike Boyce, said: “We’re committed to making each journey greener and better for the environment – and part of this includes encouraging passengers to take sustainable methods of transport to and from our stations.

“We understand the blight bike theft has on the public – and that’s why we’ll be hosting more of these events across our network so cyclists can register and mark their bikes – the more people who take part, the more robust the scheme is.”

MP Daisy Cooper said: “In St Albans, particularly at the City station, bike thefts are all too common an occurrence. It’s been deeply worrying to hear about various incidents: from bike locks being cut to bikes even being taken from the 'Cycle Hub' secure storage facility at the station.

“Yesterday's event, which follows months of discussions about this problem between myself, Thameslink, British Transport Police and our St Albans Neighbourhood Police, provided a fantastic opportunity to protect against such incidents.

“And we're continuing to discuss further actions to tackle the issue. Taking a small precaution like security marking your bike can make all the difference in deterring thefts or tracking down stolen bikes, and whilst in an ideal world it wouldn't be necessary, it's not worth taking the risk."