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Most pointless journey for which a fare is available

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notlob.divad

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One that I haven't seen on here is Birkenhead Central to Conway Park (or vice versa).

Merseyrail gives a fare of £2.10 and a journey time of 23 minutes including a 5 minute change at Hamilton Square.

Google says it is a 10 minute walk, and that doesn't include the shortcuts through the shopping centre and the bus station.
 
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RPI

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Pilning to Severn Beach (or vice versa, cant remember which isn't possible anymore)
 

syorksdeano

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£5 for this journey using train split and takes an hour
 

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Mcr Warrior

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£5 for this journey using train split and takes an hour
Ingenious, but as previously mentioned upthread, there's no single point-to-point fare available between Bradford Forster Square and Bradford Interchange, is there?
 

TEW

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Surbiton to Kingston, you can buy an Anytime Day Single for £4 with a journey time of 24 or 28 minutes, Google Maps reckons it's a 27 minute walk. Or you could catch a bus in about 10 minutes for £1.50.
 

dalesrail

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Has anyone tried Wigan Wallgate to Wigan North Western yet? Literally a one minute walk. Off the top of my head, by train would either be Wallgate - Bolton, Bolton - Preston, Preston - WNW or Wallgate - Man Vic /Oxford Road, Man - Liv Lime Street, Lime Street- WNW

Until Dec 2019 You could travel Wallgate - Hindley and Hindley - WNW
 

Scotrail314209

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Paisley Gilmour Street - Paisley Canal, £3.80 single, 50 minute journey changing at Glasgow Central, when it takes about 15 minutes to walk.
 

Mag_seven

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Don't think so, but is a point-to-point fare available?

There isn't


A lot of posters on this thread seem to be missing this criterion as set by the OP.

They are just quoting examples of stations that are close together but on different lines without also checking that there is a fare available between them.
 

JonathanH

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Paisley Gilmour Street - Paisley Canal, £3.80 single, 50 minute journey changing at Glasgow Central, when it takes about 15 minutes to walk.
That sounds like one of those Glasgow single tickets that people try to use as a 'return'.
 

adrock1976

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What's it called? It's called Cumbernauld
Bellgrove to either Duke Street or Alexandra Parade, Barnhill to Springburn, and Croy to either Greenfaulds or Cumbernauld.

As the first and second examples are close together and the line having a frequency of every 30 minutes (60 minutes on Sundays), it would be quicker to walk between them.

With the third example,rather than going into Glasgow Queen Street and back out again (or via a change at Polmont) it is quicker and easier to get the bus from Croy station to at least Glasgow Road at Greenfaulds High School and walk, or straight into Cumbernauld town centre and walk to South Carbrain Road where Cumbernauld station is sited.
 

greyman42

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Surbiton to Kingston, you can buy an Anytime Day Single for £4 with a journey time of 24 or 28 minutes, Google Maps reckons it's a 27 minute walk. Or you could catch a bus in about 10 minutes for £1.50.
Why would this journey be unusual?

That sounds like one of those Glasgow single tickets that people try to use as a 'return'.
Would there be anything wrong doing this?
 

TEW

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Why would this journey be unusual?
Nothing unusual about the journey itself, but given you can walk it as quickly as it takes to catch the train, it is a slightly pointless journey to make by rail. The bus is quicker and cheaper, and arguably easier as it does not involve a change.
 

High Dyke

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Netherfield to Carlton, or vice versa.
Walk: 6 minutes.
Bus: Approximately 1 minute.
Train: via Nottingham. BRfares shows the Anytime single: £8.50. It's cheaper to buy two separate singles to/from Nottingham to the respective stations (£4.00 each).
 

al78

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Well, walking from Oxford road to Picc is not as easy as it looks.
I’ve done once, must have took 15 mins.
Is it not? You can get from Piccadilly to Oxford Road by walking along one road, the B6469 which starts off as Fairfield Street and becomes Whitworth Street. Go out of the station by the main entrance, face the road, turn right, and just keep following the road on the left hand side, you reach Oxford Street station in 10-15 minutes. That is the route I go if I am cycling from Piccadilly station to my father's house in Swinton, I go past Oxford Road and Deansgate on the way. The only issue with walking is there are a lot of junctions along that road which will slow a pedestrian down (amongst everyone else). It certainly takes me a long time to get out of Manchester due to the number of traffic lights.
 

al78

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Inverness to Fort William, over seven hours by train going via Glasgow, about two hours by bus. Most cyclists could do that journey significantly faster. It is a little surprising there isn't a rail line along the great glen, or was there once a rail line that got closed?
 

43172

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Exton to Lympstone Commando, a 9 minute walk of 0.4 miles according to Google Maps or a 2 minute train journey with a Off-Peak day single for £1.60 (without railcard)
 

Peter0124

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Kirkhill <-> Cambuslang changing at Newton
Would probably be quicker to walk that

A better example of this would be
Woodgrange Park <-> Manor Park requiring 2 changes when the stations are roughly 380m apart and walkable
 
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Mcr Warrior

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Inverness to Fort William, over seven hours by train going via Glasgow, about two hours by bus. Most cyclists could do that journey significantly faster. It is a little surprising there isn't a rail line along the great glen, or was there once a rail line that got closed?
There was once a railway (the 'Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway') which ran for a distance of 23 miles along the Great Glen from Spean Bridge (at the Fort William end) up as far as Fort Augustus, about halfway up the Great Glen towards Inverness. Opened 1903. Closed 1946.

General consensus was that it should never have been built.
 

Jamesrob637

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Any peak fare right now is meaningless with empty trains between 07:00 and 09:00 weekdays.
 

30907

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I will time it one day! Yes, I do walk fairly fast.
So do I, but not that fast :)
BTW 19min was Saltaire Up platform to Shipley Station Road entrance, the shortest I can get is Albert Terrace entrance to Stead St entrance at 18min..
 

jfollows

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Well, walking from Oxford road to Picc is not as easy as it looks.
I’ve done once, must have took 15 mins.
I used to do it on the way home from school, when I started in September 1973 the school bus got to Oxford Road at about 16:00 (school finished at 15:45) and I caught the 16:03 to Piccadilly for the 16:12 thence home to Poynton.

In May 1974 there was a major timetable change, electrification to Glasgow and hourly services Manchester-London. This had a knock-on effect on the Altrincham-Crewe service which changed to 15:57 from Oxford Road, 6 minutes earlier. It was enough of a change to mean that the school bus didn't make it in time. So I had to walk rather quickly to Piccadilly for the retimed 16:10 to Poynton, it required rather a fast walk but I never missed the train to my recollection.

As I got older I became less concerned about getting home as soon as possible. We then moved house anyway so I could catch the 16:12 from Oxford Road to Piccadilly for the 16:23 thence to Macclesfield. Sorted! No more walk/run to Piccadilly.
 
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