Ridiculous routes

[D6975]

When planning a trip to the North East I came up with some bizarre routes suggested by the National Rail Enquiries website, but I've just come across this (last service from Carlisle to Whitehaven) which takes the biscuit. It declined to offer a fare though...

21:51 Carlisle [CAR] Glasgow Central [GLC] 23:04
23:29 Glasgow Central [GLC] Westerton [WES] 23:44
23:56 Westerton [WES] Preston (Lancs) [PRE] 04:29
05:22 Preston (Lancs) [PRE] Whitehaven [WTH] 08:09

That's 10hr 18 mins

Try it yourself. Carlisle - Whitehaven, depart after 21:00 on a weekday.

The last direct service leaves Carlisle at 21:50 and takes 1hr 15mins which makes it even more ridiculous.

 

[Wyvern]

A couple of years ago I wanted to go from Woking to Derby. The most obvious though possibly not the quickest was via Waterloo and STP.

I had to enter the two journeys separately as the website flatly refused to give anything else but Woking, Clapham Junction , Vauxhall, Euston, Tamworth, Derby.

Even via Blazingsmoke would have been better.

 

[jamesontheroad]

21:51 Carlisle [CAR] Glasgow Central [GLC] 23:04
23:29 Glasgow Central [GLC] Westerton [WES] 23:44
23:56 Westerton [WES] Preston (Lancs) [PRE] 04:29
05:22 Preston (Lancs) [PRE] Whitehaven [WTH] 08:09

Proof that booking system has a beating heart. Any opportunity to ride behind a locomotive, eh?

 

[blackfive460]

I sometimes think that the writers of journey planner software write a sense of humour into these things.
Wasn't there an on-line route planner that wanted to send people via Denmark and the Netherlands on a road journey from Newcastle to Harwich?

 

[mrcheek]

Im sure someone will recall the correct details, but there was an awesome one on here a couple of years back. Something like Blair Atholl to Pitlochry on a weekend, with engineering work, gave a route that seemed to be a 24 hour tour of the whole of Scotland!

 

[Deerfold]

I sometimes think that the writers of journey planner software write a sense of humour into these things.
Wasn't there an on-line route planner that wanted to send people via Denmark and the Netherlands on a road journey from Newcastle to Harwich?

Google maps used to indicate you should swim the Atlantic if you asked for directions between North America and Europe (and always to/from the same point in each).

 

[Any Permitted]

If you're booking late night journies the planners always come up with incredibly long waits. I was looking at Great Yarmouth - East Croydon and it had a 5 hours wait in Norwich at 1am which I didn't much fancy.

 

[WatcherZero]

To be expected yes, if your booking at night when theirs hardly any services its going to find the earliest to get you to your destination even if its more hops.

That route even at 10 hours long gets you there 50 minutes earlier than the first train of the day from Carlisle.

 

[Green Lane]

One Internet route planner suggested I walk across the river Mersey for two miles.

Google walk planner suggests you can't cross the Runcorn bridge as a pedestrian (routes you via Warrington instead), but there is in fact a pedestrian walkway across it.

Another time, to get to a hospital just half a mile away, it was suggested I walk a mile away, catch a bus and travel just one stop about 100 meters down the road, and then walk a mile from that stop to the hospital.

Another route planner suggested I exit a railway station where there was no actual exit and it was onto a busy road with national speed limits and no pavement, when on the other side was the station exit with a road with pavements.

I don't know how they could get it so completely wrong! Hope no-one follows these mistakes.

 

[tony_mac]

I've seen that before on overnight journeys - it's obviously a 'tie breaking' problem.

There are many possible journeys that start at 21:51 and end at 08:09, so they are probably just arbitrarily giving the first (or last) one that they found.

 

[Green Lane]

As for the National Rail website, I often find that the parliamentary service between Ellesmere port and Helsby (discussed in another thread) throws up some ludicrous journeys.

For example Ellesmere Port and Stanlow & Thornton are 2 miles apart, a journey taking 4 minutes on the train.

But you will get the option of the 13:49 from Ellesmere Port, arriving at Stanlow & Thornton at 15:22, changing at Hooton, Chester and Helsby. That's a round trip about ten times longer (22 miles) and taking 1hour 33 minutes rather than the usual 4. You could theoretically walk it much quicker.

The good news is that it (the return) still only costs £1.90, so you could use it instead of a ticket from Ellesmere port to Chester (normally £2.80), "break" your jourmey and save 90p.

 

[northwichcat]

I'm not sure if it's still the case but NRE website used to come up with the following for Altrincham-Manchester Victoria:

Altrincham - GMex Tram
Deansgate-Salford Crescent Train
Salford Crescent-Manchester Piccadilly Train
Manchester Piccadilly-Manchester Victoria Tram

Why just see the one Manchester station when you can see 4?

 

[swt_passenger]

A couple of years ago I wanted to go from Woking to Derby. The most obvious though possibly not the quickest was via Waterloo and STP.

I had to enter the two journeys separately as the website flatly refused to give anything else but Woking, Clapham Junction , Vauxhall, Euston, Tamworth, Derby.

Even via Blazingsmoke would have been better.

You possibly weren't selecting the right options then, the SWT site just came up with a £27 advance single 'via Basingstoke' for me on Friday, simply by setting 'via Basingstoke...

Unlikely the route wasn't valid two years ago I suppose...