Weymss Bay-Gourock doesn't offer walking down the hill from Drumfrochar to Greenock West which for much of the day gets you there on the service one in front of the one you would catch if travelling via Port Glasgow as recommended.
-
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: Connections involving short walks that you won't find on journey planners
- Thread starter drb61
- Start date
- Status
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R
RailUK Forums
Mcr Warrior
Veteran Member
- Joined
- 8 Jan 2009
- Messages
- 11,742
I've had to do that in the past, rocking up at Worcester Foregate Street, only to realise that there's nothing departing anytime soon towards Birmingham, or indeed to Shrub Hill to change there. Not all that far between the two Worcester stations, maybe three-quarters of a mile, but it's a mostly uphill schlep and not so fun when warm.
markymark2000
On Moderation
Best one that I can find is Merseyrail Kirkby to Ormskirk branches (and vice versa) don't tell you that to walk between Walton and Rice Lane (close enough that they should have a path connection) instead telling you to change at Kirkdale.
I did exactly that when I was bashing some routes and stations, living on the south coast I didn't make it up to Glasgow all that often, but I did Central out to East Kilbride back to Clarkston walked down to Williamwood, then out to Neilston and back to Central.
Mcr Warrior
Veteran Member
- Joined
- 8 Jan 2009
- Messages
- 11,742
How about Moorthorpe and South Elmsall in South Yorkshire. Under a mile on foot between the two stations. By train, you'll probably be offered an itinerary which involves having to travel to Fitzwilliam and then doubling back, taking eight and a half miles. Not sure either, whether there is any through fare, other than by adding together anytime day singles to/from Fitzwilliam.
ASharpe
Member
Going further off topic, but you can't even get the shortest route by rail between Settle and Giggleswick on a journey planner as the only fare is via Skipton. It can be done quicker by train or walking than a journey planner would give.
MadMac
Member
I was told that it was possible to get off a train at Dunfermline Upper, walk to Dunfermline Lower (now Town) and catch the same train!
Mcr Warrior
Veteran Member
- Joined
- 8 Jan 2009
- Messages
- 11,742
Doubt you'd find that on the National Rail journey planner, (nor indeed any other journey planner), on account of Dunfermline Upper station having closed in 1968.
Upper Tyndrum and Tyndrum Lower for those who wish to avoid changing at Crianlarich. Not sure how useful it would be in practice given scarcity of services.
Pontefract Monkhill to Baghill might help some people but I'm struggling to think what maybe York to Knottingley?
Pontefract Monkhill to Baghill might help some people but I'm struggling to think what maybe York to Knottingley?
dcsprior
Member
Upper Tyndrum to Tyndrum Lower - no walking option shown, just a circa 60m journey via Crianlarich
Planner - Results - FastJP
www.fastjp.com
But walking would just give you a very long wait at Tyndrum Lower. Admittedly you could use the time to do something else in the village, but it wouldn't actually save you any time on the journey itself.
See #post 21
Who says you have to be going there to catch a train. You might be going for a meal at the excellent hotel/restaurant there then returning to your croft near Upper Tyndrum.
dcsprior
Member
Who says you have to be going there to catch a train. You might be going for a meal at the excellent hotel/restaurant there then returning to your croft near Upper Tyndrum.
I think if didn't form part of a journey, you wouldn't much care if it was shown on journey planners or not
I don't think either of those is all that useful to continue a train journey.Helensburgh Upper to Helensburgh Central - no walking option shown, just a circa 60m journey via Dumbarton Central.
Planner - Results - FastJP
Upper Tyndrum to Tyndrum Lower - no walking option shown, just a circa 60m journey via Crianlarich
Planner - Results - FastJP
With Helensburgh Central being a terminus, there's no connecting train to catch, you're just as well served staying on whichever train you're on. The walking time to Upper defeats the time you could possibly save from the West Highland train's fewer stops to Glasgow.
With the Tyndrum stations, there's absolutely no time saving on turning around from one branch of the West Highland Line to the other by walking between those two stations compared to just staying on until Crianlarich. That is unless you want to sample the delights of the Green Welly Stop, I guess?
randyrippley
Established Member
- Joined
- 21 Feb 2016
- Messages
- 5,132
How about Crewkerne-Frome, walking via the Yeovil stations?I don't see how this could make any journeys quicker than the routes suggested in journey planners; any journey going beyond West Ham would be a simple connection via the Jubilee Line for example.
Again, journey planners do show this:
Planner - Results - FastJP
The question is does anyone have any more examples that involve walking, which are not shown in journey planners, which enable faster journeys to be made than are possible by routes shown in journey planners?
The alternatives are via Exeter, or Salisbury and Westbury
Nope; there is a fixed link for that too.
If you don't want to put the journey in a journey planner, you can simply look it up at brtimes.com:
BR Times - Train Times & Station Platform Finder
Alternative journey planner featuring full schedule details including platforms and connection times, for every passenger train on the National Rail network.
www.brtimes.com
Trainsplit finds the journey no problem at all, and finds a very cheap split which saves 45% off the through fare.
Shimbleshanks
Member
Not a walk, but in the past I've saved about 20 minutes on journeys from Wrexham to Liverpool by cycling from Bidston to Birkenhead North. On late night services, it can be quicker to do that and catch a train coming off the New Brighton line instead of waiting at Bidston for the next service from West Kirby, which is the official connection. It might be just do-able if you walk, or possibly jog, and certainly warmer than hanging around on Bidston station platform.
That's got to be the longest walking link I'd have thought? Pretty surprised that that is in there as a walk rather than a "transfer". Can't imagine there are many people who would ever consider it?Nope; there is a fixed link for that too.
If you don't want to put the journey in a journey planner, you can simply look it up at brtimes.com:
BR Times - Train Times & Station Platform Finder
Alternative journey planner featuring full schedule details including platforms and connection times, for every passenger train on the National Rail network.
Trainsplit finds the journey no problem at all, and finds a very cheap split which saves 45% off the through fare.
alxndr
Established Member
- Joined
- 3 Apr 2015
- Messages
- 1,472
Oulton Broad South and North? About a 15 minutes walk (3/4 a mile).
Class800
Established Member
2 miles. Distance not my main concern in terms of doing it myself, it is fast roads with no pavement. I would probably wear my hi viz jacket if I had to do it
I've done it before and managed to find a path away from the road for most of the way, but definitely not something I'd be keen on repeating!
TravelDream
Member
- Joined
- 7 Aug 2016
- Messages
- 675
If you're doing single hops, that's right.
Treherbert to Aberdare is 79 minutes by train connecting in Pontypridd. By bus it would also requires a connection, but Google suggests 66 minutes with a very tight connection. The bus is less frequent though.
This is probably the only one I'd recommend the train over train.
Aberdare to Merthyr is 79 minutes by train (same as Treherbert) connecting in Abercynon. The bus is much faster and more frequent and take 27-36 minutes dependent on route. The train is notably cheaper than the bus though.
Merthyr to Rhymney is 137 to 147 minutes by train connecting in Cardiff Queen Street. It's 26-30 minutes by a very frequent bus service. No competition.
Stephen1001
Member
Paisley Canal to Paisley Gilmour Street is another interesting one - a 0.6 mile, 12 minute walk but not advertised as a fixed link. For the purposes of this thread it's only really relevant for journeys from intermediate stations on the Canal branch to destinations west of Paisley, where it can sometimes be quicker than doubling back via Glasgow Central: Hawkhead to Port Glasgow, for instance, is advertised at 70 minutes by journey planners but could be done in 45 using this trick.
I've done Monkhill to Baghill and remember having to run the last bit as I had around 10 minutes to make the "connection". Not sure that the walking route was signposted. I had a WY Day Rover which is valid between Baghill and Moorthorpe. The lack of trains at Baghill makes this an unlikely choice for an actual journey.
I once did Manors (Tyne & Wear Metro) to Manors (National Rail) and there was no signing, although they are close together. I was going to Chathill and just made it in time. This would be a useful route from, say, Tynemouth to Morpeth, to avoid going via Newcastle and a possible Metro change at Monument.
Surreytraveller
On Moderation
- Joined
- 21 Oct 2009
- Messages
- 2,810
Plenty of stations in South London. Coulsdon South to Coulsdon Town. Purley Oaks to Sanderstead. Riddlesdown to Purley. East Croydon to West Croydon. Selhurst to Norwood Junction. Brockley to Nunhead.
ChiefPlanner
Established Member
South Kenton to Northwick Park ......
61653 HTAFC
Veteran Member
I'm working from memory so might be wrong, but I think Baghill to Tanshelf is a shorter walk. The disadvantage being that Tanshelf is only served by the via Wakefield leg, whereas Monkhill has the via Castlefords and Grand Central in addition.
childwallblues
Established Member
Also via Warrington you would have problems getting a through ticket.
Not at all - there are via Warrington fares for the vast majority of journeys such as this. In fact, in this particular case the only available fare is routed via Warrington, so you'd have to split to travel via Runcorn - even though it's the shortest and often fastest route.
- Status