Trivia : Roads/or station approaches running parallel with the railway

[notadriver]

Headcorn station in Kent has a road which follows the railway for just over a mile. It’s possible for a car to run alongside a train departing the station until the train accelerates past the 60 mph national A road speed limit and leaves the car behind.

Are there any other stations or sections of railway like this ?

 

[MP393]

Not a station, but I’ve ran parallel to many trains on the Chat Moss leaving Manchester between Ordsall Lane & Eccles which runs parallel to the M602. The trains roughly run at around 60mph leaving Manchester next to the railway so you follow beside them for a fair bit. (60mph speed limit on the M602 for “Air Quality)

 

[ANDREW_D_WEBB]

Avoncliff. One of only two roads into the village runs parallel with the railway between her and Bradford on Avon.

Only a short section, but trains leaving Southampton Central toward Portsmouth or London have a road parallel on both sides. How many other places can claim that?

Parts of the High Speed line which links the Channel Tunnel with Paris run alongside the Autoroute. IIRC the French try to do this when building new high speed infrastructure.

 

[norbitonflyer]

The West Somerset Railway runs alongside the A39 for more than half a mile west of Washford station

 

[68001]

The A1 at Newark runs parallel with the east coast main line for a short period

 

[Red Onion]

The well used Golf Street is bounded parallel streets on both sides.

 

[Halish Railway]

Between Bingley & Thwaites the Airedale line runs right next to the A650 which includes the approaches to both Bingley & Crossflatts.

 

[Darandio]

The A67 runs parallel to Teesside Airport station and is just over a mile. Couple of issues though, the speed limit for the railway is only 60mph and you're 99.9% unlikely to be on a train that actually stops there!

 

[Flange Squeal]

I note that the road a Headcorn isn't the same as the road that leads into the station itself, so on that basis these might also count?

The country side of Bracknell station (Berkshire) has the main A329 dual carriageway running parallel to the down line for around 1.5 miles, so a train departing Bracknell towards Reading will 'race' cars as it accelerates away from the station as they also speed up from the Twin Bridges Roundabout near the station.

A half mile stretch of the line just to the north of Frimley station (Surrey) runs parallel to the A331 dual carriageway near the M3 motorway junction, so with trains accelerating or slowing at this point, 'races' with cars also occur there as they accelerate and then slow between two roundabouts.

 

[Puppetfinger]

M5 in Devon from north of Exeter, until past Tiverton Parkway.

 

[norbitonflyer]

Not near a (railway) station, M1 and West Coast Main Line near Watford Gap Service Station. You are also alongside the Grand Union Canal but things would have to be pretty bad on the railway and the motorway for a boat to win that race.

 

[randyrippley]

The approach road at Yeovil Junction
Quarter of a mile alongside the track

 

[InOban]

The M8 runs alongside Uphall Station.

 

[Grecian 1998]

Starcross, southwards towards Cockwood Harbour.

 

[pdeaves]

Rugby and Swindon come to my mind.

 

[D6975]

The A55 runs alongside the railway for a fair few miles beyond Conwy.

 

[75A]

Coming out of Littlehampton your have a road on your left running alongside, as you also do at Bognor.

 

[King Lazy]

Flimby station is right next to the A596.

There is a bus stop next to the station. I remember riding with a driver there one day who told me when departing on a 153 towards Workington one day he was alongside a Stagecoach bus also Workington bound.

The bus driver glanced across at which point the 153 driver said he pointed at him, back at himself then out of the cab window and mouthed “You and Me, Let’s go”.

 

[High Dyke]

Swineshead - Hubberts Bridge. A1121 Boardsides and South Forty Foot drain both sandwich the railway.

 

[mrd269697]

Nice section of line between Llandecwyn and Penrhyndeudraeth which follows the road. The road and line have quite a strong radius so it makes for nice photos.

 

[Springs Branch]

On Merseyside the M62 runs parallel to the railway for around a mile east of Broad Green station, so technically you could race a train. However the motorway is elevated hereabouts, so train and car can't see each other - although you can certainly hear the roar of motorway traffic at BGE station.

One place where the station approach road runs alongside a railway is Chapel-en-le-Frith. However, here it's a different railway line (Peak Forest to Chinley, which passes under the Stockport - Buxton line immediately east of CEF station). I supposed you could try to race a Class 66 plus stone hoppers for a short distance here, but not really the thrust of the OP.

 

[Cowley]

The A830 on the run into Mallaig.

 

[Jimini]

HS1 runs alongside the M2 for a short while around Rochester, then follows the M20 for a fair old stretch down towards Folkestone.

 

[mmh]

There will be any number of these. Locally to me, there is a stretch of road alongside a railway speed limit sign, which has made me wonder if the promised miracle of self-driving cars will zoom along at ludicrous speed.

 

[D365]

if we can expand this to Europe: west of Puchheim station (Munich), a road follows the tracks into Eichenau.

 

[norbitonflyer]

The A82 runs within sight of the railway from south of Crianlarich to beyond Bridge of Orchy, although rarely right alongside.

 

[bishdunster]

The West Somerset Railway runs alongside the A39 for more than half a mile west of Washford station

But apart from Washford station is not visible.

 

[paddy1]

Anglia main line north of Chelmsford runs parallel to A12 for some distance.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Pretty sure the M40 runs alongside a section of Chiltern main line between Lapworth and Hatton in South East Birmingham.

 

[Stathern Jc]

Not quite from the station itself.
But from about 100yds after the platform end (just past Morrisons filling station), Millburn Road in Inverness runs alongside the Aberdeen line for a good half mile and the Highland Main line is just beyond until it veers slightly to start it's climb soon enough to clear the bridge over Harbour Road.

Unfortunately, there's a wall which means unless you are in a bus you can only see the roofs of anything running alongside. However, if you are travelling out of Inverness as a train leaves for Aberdeen, you will see it when you are waiting in the traffic at the Millburn roundabout. As there's only enough room for about 3 cars between the roundabout and the level crossing on Harbour Road there's regular constipation on the roads just there.