All the timetables that I've seen posted in European railway stations (UK, France, Austria, Italy) had a series of icons for each train, indicating the services offered on that train and any schedule restrictions (holiday operation, etc.). Trains that accepted bicycles had a bicycle icon. I was always able to find out from the SNCF website which trains took bicycles. TGV trains have always accepted bicycles that are boxed or bagged in a container of a strictly specified size. I went all over France on TGV trains with my bicycle in a box that was bigger than allowed and only got hassled once. The conductor yelled at me for a few minutes, and let me bring the bike box on the train.

German and Austrian long distance trains seem to always take bicycles, even when they are outside their own countries. This can be useful in countries like Italy and France, where the native long distance trains seldom or never take bicycles.