there is no mileage entry for Dalmeny - Linlithgow, as with all other services that are not 'regular' in a passenger's eyes. If it had existed, no doubt that would be the shortest route.
This statement implies that a route is not the
shortest route unless the distance can be calculated from the National Rail Timetable. I don't agree with that.
The National Routeing Guide Instructions tell us "
The shortest route is calculated by reference to the National Rail Timetable." That does not mean that the shortest route ceases to be the shortest route if an error or omission in the National Rail Timetable means that the distance cannot be calculated using that document alone.
For quick calculations, I use
railmiles to work out these missing distances. But if I intend to travel by such a shortest route, I print out the distance from an authorised source. At present I use
Table A from Network Rail's electronic Sectional Appendix, which was placed on their site in 2009.
WARNING: These are very large files!
A Leuchars - Glasgow Cen/QSt route Any Permitted ticket is valid, at the passenger's choice, to either Glasgow Central or Glasgow Queen Street. By my calculations, permitted routes are:
- The route taken by a through train, when travelling on such a train
There are none in the current timetable.
.
- The shortest route
For Leuchars - Glasgow Queen Street, this is Leuchars - Ladybank - Kirkcaldy - Burntisland - Inverkeithing - Dalmeny - (Kirkliston) - Linlithgow - Falkirk High - Croy - Glasgow Queen Street. (approx 81 miles)
For Leuchars - Glasgow Central, this is For Leuchars - Glasgow Queen Street as above, then Glasgow Queen Street (Low Level) - Partick - Glasgow Central (Low Level). (approx 85.5 miles)
The journey opportunities by the shortest route are very limited:
Monday to Friday only
0617 Leuchars - Kirkcaldy 0649
0713 Kirkcaldy - Linlithgow 0758
0804 Linlithgow - Glasgow Queen Street 0840
1745 Glasgow Queen Street - Linlithgow 1814
1816 Linlithgow - Kirkcaldy 1904
1911 Kirkcaldy - Leuchars 1940
Additional changes are needed at Linlithgow to complete the journey by the shortest route because the direct Kirkcaldy - Glasgow Queen Street train is routed via Falkirk Grahamston, not Falkirk High.
This raises the question of what is the shortest route when there is no service via Kirkliston. When there is no railway service at all by that route on any day on which a ticket is valid, then I have no doubt that another route is the shortest route for the purposes of that ticket. This applies to Day tickets and the outward portion of Off-Peak tickets dated for a Saturday or Sunday. Whether it applies at times of the day when there is no service via Kirkliston is a matter of interpretation. The journey planners have different interpretations here.
I agree with bb21 that the shortest route avoiding Kirkliston is via Dundee (92 miles).
.
- A route not more than 3 miles longer than the shortest route
This allows travel via Dunfermline instead of Kirkcaldy and/or Falkirk Grahamston instead of Falkirk High.
On days when the shortest route is via Dundee, routes not more than 3 miles longer include
- via Ladybank, Newburgh and Perth
- via Haymarket and Bathgate
- via Haymarket and Falkirk High, and
- via Haymarket and Falkirk Grahamston.
.
- A route permitted by an Easement
I can't find any.
.
- A route excluded by a (negative) Easement
Easement 46 purports to exclude travel via Dundee.
Easement 46
Journeys from Cupar or Leuchars to Stirling or Glasgow are not permitted via Dundee. This prohibition applies in both directions.
But this cannot apply on days when the shortest route is via Dundee because the NRG tells us we don't need to consult the NRG when travelling by the shortest route - it's always valid. I think this is the reason some journey planners allow travel via Dundee.
