How far can you go by train in daylight?

[Bald Rick]

Inspired by a couple of posts in the ‘First London Termini visited’ thread, I wondered how far it is possible to travel by train in this country in daylight. And that also set me wondering how far it is possible to travel from this country in daylight.

The parameters are:

1) this is about the longest absolute distance in a straight line between the start and finish points, not the distance actually travelled
2) the start must be after the official sunrise, and the finish must be before the official sunset, of any one day, at the locations concerned
3) assume trains run to time, and that connections can be made by a reasonably athletic person (Eurostar check in is allowed 15 mins before departure)
4) walking (briskly!) between different stations is permitted, as is any other form of rail transport. No buses though (or planes, obvs).
5) pre Covid timetable for Eurostar, current timetable for everything else.

I reckon the best in the U.K. is Plymouth to Thurso, whilst the best from the U.K. is Stirling to Girona at a shade over 1000 miles.

Over to you!

 

[Mike99]

I looked at the sunrise time for Glasgow around the 4th June, 04:31 and Thurso Sunset is 22:22. So theoretically by boarding the 04:36 to London Euston (09:15) Kings Cross 10:00 to Edinburgh (14:21) and then onwards to changing at Perth and Inverness for Thurso at 22:20. Giving 1140 miles and 15 hours 44 minutes

 

[D6130]

London Euston (09:15) Kings Cross 09:30 to Edinburgh

You would have to be pretty athletic to go from Euston to King's Cross platform to platform in 15 minutes, even if you were lucky enough to find all the traffic lights in your favour!

 

[Bald Rick]

I looked at the sunrise time for Glasgow around the longest day in June, 04:31. So theoretically by boarding the 04:36 to London Euston (09:15) Kings Cross 09:30 to Edinburgh (14:10) and then to Thurso at 22:20, giving 800 miles thereabouts Glasgow - London - Edinburgh as opposed to 1S39, 06:27 ex Plymouth at 565 miles to Edinburgh. So longer in distance and almost 2 hours longer in time

I think you missed parameter (1); this is about absolute distance between the start and finish points, ie in a straight line. Glasgow Central to Thurso is about 190 miles...

 

[Bald Rick]

You would have to be pretty athletic to go from Euston to King's Cross platform to platform in 15 minutes, even if you were lucky enough to find all the traffic lights in your favour!

That’s easily done by a normal walk.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

This thread is making my head hurt!

 

[peteb]

Using the 2019 summer eurostar timetable and the sncf/BR timetables for 21/6/2021 it is feasible to do Cebere dep 0625 to Dundee arr 2154 in daylight, 1005 miles as the crow flies according to google maps. But is that allowed?

 

[yorkie]

You would have to be pretty athletic to go from Euston to King's Cross platform to platform in 15 minutes, even if you were lucky enough to find all the traffic lights in your favour!

I've done it in less, without having to go particularly fast. And there's only 2 sets of traffic lights

 

[Techniquest]

I've done it in less, without having to go particularly fast. And there's only 2 sets of traffic lights

I did it Kings Cross to Euston platform-to-platform via Euston Road in 11 minutes once, although admittedly I did have to increase my pace. This was some years before my physical fitness was drastically improved mind, these days I could do it happily in less than 10 minutes without breaking a sweat!

I found it wasn't the traffic lights really that slowed me down, the other pedestrians and the non-traffic lights crossings were worse!

 

[HSP 2]

Inspired by a couple of posts in the ‘First London Termini visited’ thread, I wondered how far it is possible to travel by train in this country in daylight. And that also set me wondering how far it is possible to travel from this country in daylight.

The parameters are:

1) this is about the longest absolute distance in a straight line between the start and finish points, not the distance actually travelled
2) the start must be after the official sunrise, and the finish must be before the official sunset, of any one day, at the locations concerned
3) assume trains run to time, and that connections can be made by a reasonably athletic person (Eurostar check in is allowed 15 mins before departure)
4) walking (briskly!) between different stations is permitted, as is any other form of rail transport. No buses though (or planes, obvs).
5) pre Covid timetable for Eurostar, current timetable for everything else.

I reckon the best in the U.K. is Plymouth to Thurso, whilst the best from the U.K. is Stirling to Girona at a shade over 1000 miles.

Over to you!

Mid summers day or mid winters day? as today at home we have about 17 hours from sunrise to sunset.

 

[Bald Rick]

Mid summers day or mid winters day? as today at home we have about 17 hours from sunrise to sunset.

Whenever you want! But where ever you start must be after sunrise at that location, and wherever you finish must be before sunset at that location.

 

[Bald Rick]

Using the 2019 summer eurostar timetable and the sncf/BR timetables for 21/6/2021 it is feasible to do Cebere dep 0625 to Dundee arr 2154 in daylight, 1005 miles as the crow flies according to google maps. But is that allowed?

Well, that would certainly be allowed in a competition for how far can you travel in daylight to the U.K., starting outside the UK

 

[Gloster]

If I remember correctly, a few years ago it was possible to do the Isle of Wight to Sweden in one go during the short period in summer that the late Hamburg-Copenhagen train ran. You wouldn’t have got to Sweden until well after midnight and there was at least one slightly risky change. I reckon that if you did do it at midsummer you would be in Denmark before dusk.

 

[Bald Rick]

If I remember correctly, a few years ago it was possible to do the Isle of Wight to Sweden in one go during the short period in summer that the late Hamburg-Copenhagen train ran. You wouldn’t have got to Sweden until well after midnight and there was at least one slightly risky change. I reckon that if you did do it at midsummer you would be in Denmark before dusk.

Interesting!

IoW to Malmö is only 670 miles though.

 

[baz962]

I did it Kings Cross to Euston platform-to-platform via Euston Road in 11 minutes once, although admittedly I did have to increase my pace. This was some years before my physical fitness was drastically improved mind, these days I could do it happily in less than 10 minutes without breaking a sweat!

I found it wasn't the traffic lights really that slowed me down, the other pedestrians and the non-traffic lights crossings were worse!

I do it regularly and im not fit . I timed myself along the Euston road at 14 minutes , platform to platform. Nowadays I cut through the flats and come out by the side of The Francis Crick institute.

 

[D6130]

That's my preferred route too. It's much quieter, far less polluted and brings you out right opposite the side entrance to St Pancras International.

 

[Bald Rick]

That's my preferred route too. It's much quieter, far less polluted and brings you out right opposite the side entrance to St Pancras International.

Albeit slightly scary walking past Crick when the liquid oxygen tank is venting off!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Interesting just how many folk are commenting on the Kings Cross/St P -> Euston transit portion of the trip!

 

[Techniquest]

Interesting just how many folk are commenting on the Kings Cross/St P -> Euston transit portion of the trip!

Perhaps we should have a forum challenge set up, see who can do platform 0 at King's Cross to platform 8 to Euston the quickest. Only via Euston Road, going the 'back way' is not permitted for said challenge.

I'd even go and find the forum group on Strava to participate in such a challenge! No prizes, just bragging rights.

As for the thread topic, I think my choice would be Swansea to Marseille

 

[big_rig]

I am not sure Stirling to Girona can be beat. I have been trying to play round with some other variations like Newcastle to Madrid , but they are much of a muchness/the timetables are a bit fiddly. The real prize would be if you could somehow get to Stockholm for the sleeper to Narvik, and race the sunset up to the north until the bit where it doesn't set..!

 

[rg177]

Hamburg to Narvik seems to be possible

 

[Bald Rick]

Hamburg to Narvik seems to be possible

Between sunrise in Hamburg and the Arctic Circle in 19 hours?

 

[rg177]

Between sunrise in Hamburg and the Arctic Circle in 19 hours?

From a cursory glance on the Interrail app, if you left Hamburg at 0456 you could get yourself to Stockholm in time for the Narvik sleeper.

Done at the right time of year, as suggested by big_rig, you might be able to try and outrun the sunset seeing as it leaves Stockholm at 1836.

 

[big_rig]

From a cursory glance on the Interrail app, if you left Hamburg at 0456 you could get yourself to Stockholm in time for the Narvik sleeper.

Done at the right time of year, as suggested by big_rig, you might be able to try and outrun the sunset seeing as it leaves Stockholm at 1836.

Unfortunately from looking at the Stockholm-Kiruna timetable again (last time I had was late 2019!) and the sunset timings I think you'd have about two hours or so in the middle of the journey it where it's properly dark! The 'sun all day' bit gets about halfway down Sweden..

 

[Gloster]

Unfortunately from looking at the Stockholm-Kiruna timetable again (last time I had was late 2019!) and the sunset timings I think you'd have about two hours or so in the middle of the journey it where it's properly dark! The 'sun all day' bit gets about halfway down Sweden..

I lived in a town in Sweden that was about 150 km north of the latitude on which Stockholm lies. For about a week either side of midsummer I reckon that the light would have been sufficient to read the headlines and subheads in a newspaper if you were standing in the middle of an isolated clearing in the woods at midnight (if that is how you take your pleasures). The normal print might just have been possible, but only by straining. If you caught the Narvik sleeper it would not get completely dark, but for a period it might be difficult to tell because of the interior lights.

 

[Bald Rick]

From a cursory glance on the Interrail app, if you left Hamburg at 0456 you could get yourself to Stockholm in time for the Narvik sleeper.

Done at the right time of year, as suggested by big_rig, you might be able to try and outrun the sunset seeing as it leaves Stockholm at 1836.

I have caught the Narvik sleeper, arriving Narvik midsummer’s day, and we definitely had ‘night’. I have a picture of crossing the arctic circle the next morning.

 

[zero]

As a frequent traveller on early morning trains I will say that from May to July I consider the "civil twilight" times to be just as good as "official" daylight in terms of being able to see outside sufficiently - even when it's cloudy as it has been for the majority of the past 2 months