On Wednesday, 26th February, train operator Thameslink held a free bike marking, servicing, and safety advice event at St Albans City station in Hertfordshire.

St. Albans city is one of the UK’s best-equipped stations for cyclists.

It has 1,150 spaces, with many behind a fence and locked gate, accessible only by cyclists registered on the station’s Cycle Hub scheme.

The event was organised by Govia Thameslink Railway in collaboration with the British Transport Police and Hertfordshire Constabulary, following a spate of bicycle thefts from stations.

It also provided cyclists with the tools and knowledge to improve their security and stay safe.

More safety events are planned for the coming weeks at Brighton, Littlehampton, and Burgess Hill.

One of those having his bike serviced and registered was John Templeton, 55, who saw an advert for the event online. After having one bike serviced and registered, he returned with another.

St Albans Police has been working with Thameslink and British Transport Police to help reduce bicycle thefts from the station.

They advise one of the best ways to prevent a thief from stealing a bike is to use two locks, with one being a D-lock and the frame and both wheels locked to a secure cycle stand.

It is important to register the frame number as it makes it more likely for a bike to be returned if it is stolen and helps deter opportunist thieves.

Thameslink’s head of security and policing, Mike Boyce, said the company was committed to making each journey greener and better for the environment, including encouraging passengers to use sustainable methods of transport. The company will host more of these events so cyclists can have their bikes marked and registered, and to make the scheme more robust.

Just a few miles away from St Albans City, Elstree & Borehamwood station has a two-tier cycle storage facility, and in May last year, Southeastern opened a secure cycle hub at Swanley station in Kent with electric charging points, a tyre pump, and a cycle repair stand.

“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.”

Daisy Cooper MP, Member of Parliament for St Albans