• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Trivia: Longest time to travel between stations less than 2 miles apart

Status
Not open for further replies.
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

Joined
11 Jan 2015
Messages
677
Edenbridge and Edenbridge Town vis East Croydon and Redhill. Canterbury East and Canterbury West via Ramsgate and Dover, Ashford and Dover or very occasionally Minster, Sandwich and Dover.
 

IanD

Established Member
Joined
18 Sep 2011
Messages
2,718
Location
Newport Pagnell
Also, Moorgate to Liverpool Street via Finsbury Park & Cambridge. Think even the fastest choices would take nearly 3 hours.

Less than an hour via Highbury&Islington->Hackney Central/Hackney Downs (still not quick though).
 

DeeGee

Member
Joined
24 Jul 2012
Messages
1,117
Location
Great Grimsby
Maidstone East to Maidstone Barracks? via Otford, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and the Medway Valley Line, I think is about and hour and a half. Not the longest, by any stretch, but a fair time for 270m between platform ends.
 

ijmad

Established Member
Joined
7 Jan 2016
Messages
1,810
Location
UK
Less than an hour via Highbury&Islington->Hackney Central/Hackney Downs (still not quick though).

While I know the Hackneys are an OSI, I'm not sure I count it for the purposes of this thread :)
 

racyrich

Member
Joined
25 Jan 2014
Messages
206
Southend Victoria to Southend Central must be well over an hour via Romford-Upminster.

Fenchurch St to London Bridge or Cannon St. I don't even know where to begin to do that without the Underground!
 

EM2

Established Member
Joined
16 Nov 2008
Messages
7,523
Location
The home of the concrete cow
Maidstone East to Maidstone Barracks? via Otford, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and the Medway Valley Line, I think is about and hour and a half. Not the longest, by any stretch, but a fair time for 270m between platform ends.
Maidstone Barracks to Maidstone East:
By foot - 7 minutes.
By train - 1 hour 53 minutes, including waiting times at Paddock Wood and Ashford.

Similarly, East Farleigh to Barming is a smidge over two miles to walk.
By train, it's two hours eight minutes (Barming only gets 1tph from Ashford)
 

ijmad

Established Member
Joined
7 Jan 2016
Messages
1,810
Location
UK
Southend Victoria to Southend Central must be well over an hour via Romford-Upminster.

Fenchurch St to London Bridge or Cannon St. I don't even know where to begin to do that without the Underground!

You can do this without leaving London, just about, but it would take ages:

Without leaving ticket gates: Fenchurch Street to Barking, Barking to Gospel Oak (although not this month!), Gospel Oak to Highbury and Islington, Highbury and Islington to Surrey Quays, Surrey Quays to Queens Road Peckham, Queens Road Peckham to London Bridge (and then on to Cannon Street).

Without the GOBLIN, go Fenchurch Street to Upminster, Upminster to Romford, Romford to Stratford, Stratford to Canonbury, and Canonbury to Surrey Quays, Surrey Quays to Queens Road Peckham, Queens Road Peckham to London Bridge
 
Last edited:

DeeGee

Member
Joined
24 Jul 2012
Messages
1,117
Location
Great Grimsby
Similarly, East Farleigh to Barming is a smidge over two miles to walk.
By train, it's two hours eight minutes (Barming only gets 1tph from Ashford)

And it's a mile and a half from Barming to Aylesford, which would probably have similar frequencies?
 

USBT

Member
Joined
5 Nov 2017
Messages
121
Also, Moorgate to Liverpool Street via Finsbury Park & Cambridge. Think even the fastest choices would take nearly 3 hours.
If you class London Overground as National Rail (I do) there's a much faster way. Great Northern to Highbury and Islington, Overground to Stratford, and Greater Anglia or TFL Rail to LST. It may be faster to make the last change at Hackney Central/Hackney Downs (two stations connected train side) and Overground/Anglia into LST from there.
 

USBT

Member
Joined
5 Nov 2017
Messages
121
Acton Main Line to Acton Central (0.7 miles) requires GWR to Reading, SWR to Richmond and Overground to Acton Central. 2hr36. Unless I'm missing something.

Tattenham Corner to Epsom Downs (1.1 mile) takes 1hr34 according to the NR Journey Planner. Southern to Norwood Junction (37 mins), Overground/Southern to West Croydon (5 mins), Southern to Epsom Downs (23 mins), with 29 minutes of wait time spread across Norwood Jct and West Croydon.
 
Last edited:

topydre

Member
Joined
2 Jan 2012
Messages
188
Gravesend - Tilbury Town

I think it's less than 2 miles across the Thames anyway...
about 1h30
 

DynamicSpirit

Established Member
Joined
12 Apr 2012
Messages
8,027
Location
SE London
Gravesend - Tilbury Town

I think it's less than 2 miles across the Thames anyway...
about 1h30

Starting post specified a walking distance of less than 2 miles. I think you might struggle to walk that one! Unless you're good at walking on water ;)
 

IanD

Established Member
Joined
18 Sep 2011
Messages
2,718
Location
Newport Pagnell
While I know the Hackneys are an OSI, I'm not sure I count it for the purposes of this thread :)

The two stations are now connected by a covered walkway.

It may be faster to make the last change at Hackney Central/Hackney Downs (two stations connected train side) and Overground/Anglia into LST from there.

That's what I said.
 

Bevan Price

Established Member
Joined
22 Apr 2010
Messages
7,320
Pontefract Monkhill / Tanshelf to Pontefract Baghill will only take you about 2 hours if you don’t fancy the 2 minute walk
Unless you are Usain Bolt, Pontefract Baghill is a lot more than 2 minutes walk from either Monkhill or Tanshelf.
 

DynamicSpirit

Established Member
Joined
12 Apr 2012
Messages
8,027
Location
SE London
West Hampstead Overground to West Hampstead Thameslink? If you're allowed to use the Underground, then it's not too bad - you could go via Highbury and Islington and Kings Cross. If you're not allowed to use the Underground, then you're basically screwed!
 

USBT

Member
Joined
5 Nov 2017
Messages
121
West Hampstead Overground to West Hampstead Thameslink? If you're allowed to use the Underground, then it's not too bad - you could go via Highbury and Islington and Kings Cross. If you're not allowed to use the Underground, then you're basically screwed!
Overground (with a change at Highbury and Islington) to Denmark Hill, then Thameslink through the core to West Hampstead Thameslink. A long way, but doable.
 

Cherry_Picker

Established Member
Joined
18 Apr 2011
Messages
2,796
Location
Birmingham
While its one station for most purposes Tamworth according to a small amount of things such as programming the information boards is technically two separate stations for the high and low levels hence why for the high level information boards show the train calling at "Tamworth" but at at the low level its posted as "Tamworth Low Level".

Tamworth High Level to Tamworth Low Level must be quite a long journey.


They are clearly the same station, but you can do it in about 80 minutes in the morning peak changing at Water Orton and Nuneaton.

Using National Rail services only? Sudbury & Harrow Road to South Kenton would be a hell of a trek, can't be done at weekends and I don't think you can start it until the evening peak without doubling back. Leave at 16:45 and change at South Ruislip, Gerrards Cross, Bicester North, Leamington Spa, Coventry & Watford Junction and I make it you can arrive at 21:01.
 

DynamicSpirit

Established Member
Joined
12 Apr 2012
Messages
8,027
Location
SE London
Using National Rail services only? Sudbury & Harrow Road to South Kenton would be a hell of a trek, can't be done at weekends and I don't think you can start it until the evening peak without doubling back. Leave at 16:45 and change at South Ruislip, Gerrards Cross, Bicester North, Leamington Spa, Coventry & Watford Junction and I make it you can arrive at 21:01.

Slight nitpick: I assume you mean Sudbury and Harrow Road and North Wembley (or even maybe Wembley Central), both of which are much shorter walking distances than South Kenton. I'm not quite sure if Sudbury and Harrow Road to South Kenton falls within the 2 mile walking distance. Looks borderline to me. Having said, that, I think that has to be one of the winners in terms of awkwardness using national rail only.

Interestingly, I just looked it up on nationalrail.co.uk. Turns out you can buy a single for this journey for £7.70, but routed via the underground. One of the suggested routes for this ticket is pretty dire though: Leave Sudbury and Harrow Road at 18:40 on weekdays, and change at South Ruislip, Greenford, West Ealing, Paddington, and Queen's Park! I'm going to hazard a guess that this is one ticket that noone has ever bought! (Although to be fair, you could use Oyster which would be cheaper anyway).
 

DynamicSpirit

Established Member
Joined
12 Apr 2012
Messages
8,027
Location
SE London
If I'm allowed to push things a bit by using the Underground, there are a couple of unusual noteworthies:
  • Leicester Square to Covent Garden because it's almost always going to be quicker to walk despite that there's a direct train with only one stop.
  • And Cannon Street to Bank because if you do take the train on the TfL journey-planner recommended route (1 stop to Monument, then exit the station at Bank) you'll actually end up with a far longer walk than if you just walked it in the first place!
 

Cherry_Picker

Established Member
Joined
18 Apr 2011
Messages
2,796
Location
Birmingham
Slight nitpick: I assume you mean Sudbury and Harrow Road and North Wembley (or even maybe Wembley Central), both of which are much shorter walking distances than South Kenton.

Yeah, anywhere on the Watford DC lines would do, Wembley Central has better connections north of Watford so I went for South Kenton. It's 1.7 miles on Google maps.
 

philthetube

Established Member
Joined
5 Jan 2016
Messages
3,749
Edenbridge and Edenbridge Town vis East Croydon and Redhill. Canterbury East and Canterbury West via Ramsgate and Dover, Ashford and Dover or very occasionally Minster, Sandwich and Dover.
Journey planner won't play on that one so presumably no fare.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top