The risk of a major blaze engulfing a Dutch bike garage has increased significantly with the growing popularity of electrically powered bicycles, safety experts have warned.

In a study commissioned by rail infrastructure operator ProRail, which has dozens of enclosed bike stores at major stations, the public safety institute NPIV found that an e-bike fire could destroy two rows of bicycles in 12 minutes.

The heat reached temperatures of up to 1,200C, while exploding battery fragments flew round the store, potentially spreading the fire to other bicycles.

Up to 20% of two-wheelers in the Netherlands are estimated to be electric bikes, fatbikes or scooters, and the proportion is expected to grow in the coming years.

In a series of 21 controlled experiments in bike stores, the NPIV found that a fire in an electric battery spread to other bikes within eight minutes and took another four minutes to destroy two stacked rows of 28 bicycles.

The NPIV says sprinkler systems need to be installed as standard in bike stores, as they can bring the temperature down rapidly to below 100C and limit the spread of a fire.

“A fire in a bike store in 2025 isn’t the same as 10 years ago,” Nils Rosmuller, energy and transport safety expert told AD.nl. “The stores are designed for ordinary city bikes, but modern e-bikes have a much greater capacity for fire because of their powerful batteries and bigger quantities of plastic and rubber.”

Karen te Boome, head of stations at ProRail, said all bike stores at railway stations complied with safety laws and there had been no major incidents to date, but the regulations would be reviewed to take in the study’s findings.

“We have taken the initiative with this research in gaining more insight and knowledge about the potential risk of fire in bike stores,” she said.