[trivia] Longest difference in travel times between two stas by car/train

[cf111]

Wick to Helmsdale is 45 minutes in the car but 1 hour 45 minutes on the train.

 

[fairysdad]

St Budeaux Ferry Road to St Budeaux Victoria Road maybe?

 

[TimboM]

I used to travel from Northwich (in Cheshire) to Stirling for work fairly regularly. Used to drive as train involved at least one connection, a few scenic tours and car/taxi journeys at each end. The drive was typically 3 hours door-to-door. Got the train once and it was 6 hours door-to-door (no delays, all connections made).

 

[al78]

96.7 mins at 70mph. It's almost all dual carriageway. 84.75 mins at 80mph. Let's face it many drive at 80mph and it's hardly speeding by a great margin. Devon and cornwall speed partnership only issue penalties for over limit plus 10%. At 10% over the limit (77mph) it will take 88 minutes.

Unlikely you will be able to average 80 mph. Average will be significantly lower than peak speed unless you introduce artificial conditions (such as closing the road to everyone else).

It is better to do a fair comparison. Train drivers are not allowed to break speed limits so not a fair comparison if you allow drivers to do so.

 

[al78]

Dorking Main to Dorking Deepdene. About 20 seconds by car, at least an hour and a half by train. A ridiculous example admittedly.

Rannoch Station to Fort William, about 1 hour by train, 2 1/2 hours by car.

Rannoch Station to Pitlochry, about 1 hour 20 minutes by car, nearly six hours by train.

 

[ys123]

London to Vladivostok
About two weeks by train, at least a year by car.

According to googlemaps by car takes less than a week of non-stop travel.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Lon...1!1s0x5fb39cba5249d485:0x186704d4dd967e35!3e0
By train it can be done in 8 days.

 

[Andyjs247]

Tain to Golspie. About 20 minutes to drive on the A9 vs 56 minutes by train.

 

[Chris M]

Train journeys under the Thames in East London will mostly be quicker than going between the same stations by car.

Canary Wharf - Canada Water: 12 minutes car/ 2 minutes train
Canary Wharf - North Greenwich: 15 minutes car / 1 minute train
North Greenwich - Canning Town: 20-30 minutes car / 3 minutes train
Island Gardens - Cutty Sark: 20-40 minutes car / 2 minutes train
North Greenwich - Canada Water: 20-45 minutes car / 4 minutes train
Wapping - Rotherhithe: 10-20 minutes car / 2 minutes train
King George V - Woolwich Arseanl: 20-40 mintues car (via tunnel) / 15-60 minutes car (via ferry) / 3 minutes train
Cyprus - King George V: 5 minutes car / 25 minutes train
Dartford - Purfleet: 15-25 minutes car / 1h 20 minutes train
Gravesend - Tilbury Town: 30-45 minutes car / 1h 40 minutes train / 40 minutes walk/ferry
Shoeburyness - Sheerness-on-Sea 1h 20-1h 50 car / 3h 10 minutes train

 

[Holly]

According to googlemaps by car takes less than a week of non-stop travel.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Lon...1!1s0x5fb39cba5249d485:0x186704d4dd967e35!3e0
By train it can be done in 8 days.

Google doesn't take account of the fact that some of the roads and river crossings across Siberia are seasonal. And you can't complete all of the journey in the same season.

 

[soil]

Ash Vale to Ash (yes, it's a direct service) 26 minutes rail or 7 minutes by road.

Or on the same line Bagshot - Guildford by rather slow roads (29 minutes for 12.7 miles), or 53+ minutes by train.

 

[soil]

Google doesn't take account of the fact that some of the roads and river crossings across Siberia are seasonal. And you can't complete all of the journey in the same season.

A quick Google search suggests that it can be completed in summer, at the least. http://www.ottosreise.de/en/details/russia.html

 

[Chris M]

On the Tyne and Wear Metro:
St. James - Central station: 10-15 minutes (car) / 7 minutes (2 trains) / 58 minutes (1 train via the coast)

North Shields - South Shields: 20 minutes (car) / 63 minutes (direct train) / ~50 minutes (2 trains, changing at Monument) / 22 minutes (walk + ferry)

 

[Groningen]

High difference in time could only where besides the railway there is no road.

 

[SwindonBert]

Pilning to Severn Beach, 9 mins to drive, 53 mins to walk, 1 hour 20 or 2 hour 20 by train(there are only 2 a week)

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

Llandudno - Manchester Airport

By train 2hr 35 min

By car 1hr

 

[Great_Western]

Pye Corner to Newport? 15 minutes by car, 45/60 by train. Also, Radyr to Coryton is about a 8 minute drive and 45 minutes by train

 

[infobleep]

Dorking Main to Dorking Deepdene. About 20 seconds by car, at least an hour and a half by train. A ridiculous example admittedly.

Rannoch Station to Fort William, about 1 hour by train, 2 1/2 hours by car.

Rannoch Station to Pitlochry, about 1 hour 20 minutes by car, nearly six hours by train.

Of course walking between Dorking Deepdene and Dorking Main is allowed, as it comes up for interchange purposes when travelling between other stations. Whether you could do it at the start of a journey, is open to debate, if I've remembered correctly.

Has anyone has ever tried to travel from Dorking Deepdene to Dorking Main or the reverse, purely for the rail journey experience?

 

[SouthSub]

Edinburgh Gateway to South Gyle - 2 minutes by train, 10 minutes by car.

 

[Rich McLean]

Birmingham to Plymouth can be done faster than the train where conditions allow. Done it plenty of times and a quick toilet stop can even be included

 

[Kite159]

Edinburgh Gateway to South Gyle - 2 minutes by train, 10 minutes by car.

Only at certain times of the day when services call at both Gateway & South Gyle

 

[Ianno87]

Arnside to Grange-over-Sands. Makes for one heck of a replacement bus ride during engineering works.

 

[Kite159]

Arnside to Grange-over-Sands. Makes for one heck of a replacement bus ride during engineering works.

Wargrave to Shiplake is similar, a few minutes by train but a long way round by car due to river bridges

 

[SouthSub]

Only at certain times of the day when services call at both Gateway & South Gyle

Yes, I should have added that caveat!

 

[Mag_seven]

Birmingham to Plymouth can be done faster than the train where conditions allow. Done it plenty of times and a quick toilet stop can even be included

Birmingham to Swindon as well - thanks to timetable padding and gawd awful connections and Didcot and Oxford.

 

[MK Tom]

To drive from Milton Keynes Cental to London Euston takes 1 hour 17 minutes vs. 32 minutes on a Virgin service.

However the key thing here is that a car will take you directly to your destination, which is unlikely to be a station, so for rail to be competitive in journey times it needs to be substantially faster (taking all the other benefits out of the equation). But then you also need somewhere to park the car!

 

[DennisM]

Chertsey to Shepperton, 10 mins by Car, 1 hour 25 mins fastest route and changing trains three times!

 

[Kite159]

Clarkston to Williamwood within Glasgow. 4 minutes to drive between them, but I dare say a lot longer to take the train.

Probably something like Crossmyloof & Maxwell Park as well

 

[Clansman]

Perth to Edinburgh direct

Can be done in 50 minutes by Car
Maximum time a diagrammed service takes between both cities is just under 2 hours.

 

[Dr Hoo]

Denton to Reddish South takes a few minutes less than a week by rail but can be driven in just a few minutes.

Berney Arms to Corrour isn't exactly easy by train but is effectively impossible by car.

 

[Dai Corner]

Pye Corner to Newport? 15 minutes by car, 45/60 by train. Also, Radyr to Coryton is about a 8 minute drive and 45 minutes by train

I was going to mention Pye Corner. It's much faster during engineering works when Ebbw Vale trains are diverted to Newport!