Trivia- most circuitous route between closest stations.

[A0wen]

Enfield Chase to Enfield Town. Half a mile apart by foot.

Their next stations on their respective lines are all at least 54 chains away which is ~ 1188 yards - (half a mile being 880 yards).

To cover that would mean a trip to Highbury and Islington and Hackney Central to Hackney Downs, or Moorgate and then Liverpool Street.

 

[gg1]

Is the closest station to Barton on Humber station not Barrow Haven station (one and a half miles by rail) rather than Hessle station (which is more like three miles via the Humber Bridge albeit, obviously, a lot more by rail)?

Depends how you define closest.

Barrow Haven is probably closer in terms of walking distance but Hessle is marginally (200-300 metres) closer as the crow flies, this is based on distances measured on google maps.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Depends how you define closest.

Barrow Haven is probably closer in terms of walking distance but Hessle is marginally (200-300 metres) closer as the crow flies, this is based on distances measured on google maps.

Fair enough! And potentially do-able, of course, the next time that the Humber freezes over!

 

[zwk500]

Fair enough! And potentially do-able, of course, the next time that the Humber freezes over!

No need to wait longer than the next neap tide!

 

[Dai Corner]

No thread of this nature should omit Pilning.

Passengers from nearby Severn Beach have to travel via Avonmouth , change at Stapleton Road or Bristol Temple Meads, pass through Pilning to Severn Tunnel Junction and return, passing through the Severn Tunnel once in each direction.

 

[zwk500]

No thread of this nature should omit Pilning.

Passengers from nearby Severn Beach have to travel via Avonmouth , change at Stapleton Road or Bristol Temple Meads, pass through Pilning to Severn Tunnel Junction and return, passing through the Severn Tunnel once in each direction.

Pilning is one of those stations that should either just be closed outright or have the money spent on it to reopen the other platform. Only serving a station that is ostensibly for return travel in one direction is a ludicrous situation.

 

[Stathern Jc]

When I lived between the two I always thought it was a long way round to get from Bottesford to Melton Mowbray by train.
You have two choices of route, each with 2 changes.
And two lost lines that used to give shorter options.

 

[MaidaVale]

Not the most extreme and technically they count as the same station (share one entrance) but Smethwick Galton Bridge High Level to Low Level would be a challenge.

Quickest would be:

Smethwick High Level - Leamington Spa on a Chiltern
Leamington Spa - Birmingham New Street on CrossCountry
New Street - Smethwick Low Level on a West Midlands Trains or a TfW

 

[Lukeo2311]

In Australia, you have Canberra - Yass Junction, to get there by train you have to get from Canberra to Goulburn and then wait there for one of the XPTs which go to Melbourne and arrive in Yass around 11.30 in the morning or after midnight!

 

[Recessio]

On LU, Hammersmith to Hammersmith. Probably not a winner vs some of the others already mentioned, but it's at least two changes I think? Hammersmith Met/H&C - Edgware Road - Earl's Court - Hammersmith District/Pic

 

[HSP 2]

Not the most extreme and technically they count as the same station (share one entrance) but Smethwick Galton Bridge High Level to Low Level would be a challenge.

Quickest would be:

Smethwick High Level - Leamington Spa on a Chiltern
Leamington Spa - Birmingham New Street on CrossCountry
New Street - Smethwick Low Level on a West Midlands Trains or a TfW

I'm guessing that this should be discounted for the same reason as Shotton, see up thread. But a good shout.

 

[CaptainBen]

Walthamstow Central / Queens Road is an interesting challenge if you don't want to walk it.

 

[Kilopylae]

There are a lot of V-shaped routes around London with real use-cases where the answer is "sorry mate, via London". I was once asked by a fellow passenger at High Wycombe how to get to Slough and they were quite unimpressed with the answer. Aylesbury to Tring might be the worst of these I can think of.

On a different tack, Starcross to Exmouth is a little frustrating, given that you can literally see your destination when you depart. I suspect other C-shaped routes around estuaries must also exist, e.g. Google Maps tells me that New Brighton to Bootle Oriel Road is a little long-winded via central Liverpool.

 

[duncanp]

Walthamstow Central / Queens Road is an interesting challenge if you don't want to walk it.

This journey is only two stops.

You take the tube one stop to Blackhorse Road, and then it is one stop on the GOBLIN to Walthamstow Queens Road.

Not the most extreme and technically they count as the same station (share one entrance) but Smethwick Galton Bridge High Level to Low Level would be a challenge.

Quickest would be:

Smethwick High Level - Leamington Spa on a Chiltern
Leamington Spa - Birmingham New Street on CrossCountry
New Street - Smethwick Low Level on a West Midlands Trains or a TfW

No need to go all the way to Leamington Spa.

You can do:-

Smethwick Low Level - Jewellery Quarter (Train)
Jewellery Quarter - New Street (Tram) (when they are condescending to run a tram service to New Street during the current strike action )
New Street - Smethwick High Level (Train)

 

[D6975]

No need to go all the way to Leamington Spa.

You can do:-

Smethwick Low Level - Jewellery Quarter (Train)
Jewellery Quarter - New Street (Tram) (when they are condescending to run a tram service to New Street during the current strike action )
New Street - Smethwick High Level (Train)

Why change at Jewellery quarter when the train from low level goes to New St?
And since when has there been a service from New St to Smethwick Galton Bridge High Level?

 

[nw1]

New Mills Central to New Mills Newtown.

BRFares offers a single fare of £16.80, changing at Manchester Piccadilly and taking around 1 hour 30 minutes. You can walk between the two stations in ten!

That sounds a lot even accounting for the circuitous route!

If we are doing this then Lewes or Glynde to Uckfield must be a decent shout as well, all the way up to East Croydon to change. About 10 miles by car, more than 70 by rail.

Similarly, not especially close, but Alton to Winchester is similarly roundabout. You have to go via Woking.

Dunbridge to Andover is walkable in about six hours (I've done it) but travelling by train requires a moderately roundabout route via Salisbury.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

On a different tack, Starcross to Exmouth is a little frustrating, given that you can literally see your destination when you depart.

Though in the summer you can use the ferry...

 

[Whistler40145]

Dorking to Dorking Deepdene would require quite a long journey

 

[LUYMun]

Farnborough Main and Farnborough North would be an overkill route by train - either via Guildford and Woking or via Reading and Basingstoke.

 

[scrapy]

New Mills Central to New Mills Newtown.

BRFares offers a single fare of £16.80, changing at Manchester Piccadilly and taking around 1 hour 30 minutes. You can walk between the two stations in ten!

Can be done on a Manchester return for £7.70 though off peak. Even a wayfarer is cheaper!

 

[plugwash]

That sounds a lot even accounting for the circuitous route!

Singles often are relatively expensive and fares escalate quite quickly once you get out of the TFGM area.

That said if you are travelling after 9:30 a wayfarer is cheaper.

 

[Peter0124]

There's no way of doing this on a through ticket but if we stretch the definition of Glasgow Central and Queen Street lower levels to seperate them from the High Levels, for Glasgow Central the best way is down to Cambuslang on the Lanark service and back up again on a Dalmuir service.
There's ECS workings in the past that have ran from Shields to Yoker with a reversal at Glasgow Central then round Rutherglen West Curve and then through the low level station.

For Glasgow Queen Street, take the 385 to Springburn and change for a service via Bellgrove there.
I was on a diverted Oban service not too long ago which left the High level, went via Springburn and Bellgrove and ended up passing through Queen Street low level about 10 or 11 minutes later.

 

[Taunton]

For a "sensible journey" Port Talbot to Barnstaple must be in with a shout. You can see the steelworks at Port Talbot from Ilfracombe, but there's no practical way to get between them, by any means, short of the Severn Tunnel.

Likewise West Kirby to Prestatyn is a long way round. You can certainly see Prestatyn from West Kirby seafront, and even hear trains on the North Wales line if they sound a loud horn on a still night (and see their lights). You might even see them from West Kirby station, looking down Dee Lane with binoculars.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

Singles often are relatively expensive and fares escalate quite quickly once you get out of the TFGM area.

That said if you are travelling after 9:30 a wayfarer is cheaper.

True, but if you asked people waiting on the platform at New Mills Central of a morning "Have you heard of the GM Wayfarer" you'd get an awful lot of blank looks!

 

[Railcar]

Going by train from West Croydon to East Croydon, a six minute walk, means going via Selhurst or Norwood Junction. Interestingly, the journey from West to East by tram is shorterr than East to West

 

[PGAT]

Whyteleafe South and Whyteleafe?

Literally 1 stop direct by train.

Dorking to Dorking Deepdene would require quite a long journey

Probably the quickest route would be:

Dorking - Horsham , Horsham - Gatwick Airport , Gatwick Airport , Dorking Deepdene

 

[duncanp]

Tattenham Corner to Epsom Downs would be a long journey by train.

National Rail Enquiries says train from Tattenham Corner to East Croydon, Tram from East Croydon to West Croydon, train from West Croydon to Epsom Downs.

It is just under a mile to walk between the two stations.

 

[PGAT]

Do Tunbridge Wells and Tunbridge Wells West count?

If so it would require this journey:

Tunbridge Wells - Tonbridge , Tonbridge - Redhill , Redhill - East Croydon , East Croydon - Eridge, Eridge - Tunbridge Wells West

 

[zwk500]

Do Tunbridge Wells and Tunbridge Wells West count?

If so it would require this journey:

Tunbridge Wells - Tonbridge , Tonbridge - Redhill , Redhill - East Croydon , East Croydon - Eridge, Eridge - Tunbridge Wells West

Depends on the OP's definition of normal timetabled services, I suppose. If you take it as those in the base NRT, then no it doesn't.

 

[McRhu]

Going from Buchanan Street to St Enoch (or any two adjacent stations) the wrong way on the Glasgow Subway. Not terribly long but very circuitous in a circly kind of way.