Stations with multiple routes to London (or other big cities)

[David]

And up here in the North, Sheffield - Barnetby/Grimsby/Cleethorpes. Hourly during the day via Scunthorpe, and 3 trains every Saturday via Brigg.

Also Sheffield - Leeds. Via Barnsley (Northern) and via Wakefield (XC and the odd EMT service)

Sheffield - York via Leeds (XC), via Doncaster (XC and EMT at weekends) or via Pontefract (Northern).

Leeds - Manchester via Stalyvegas and Guide Bridge (TPE) or to Manchester Victoria (Northern and the occasional TPE diversion).

 

[jopsuk]

Tsk tsk. This thread has been open for over 6 hours now, you'd have thought with the knowledge on these forums, every single answer would've long since gone. Yet it seems noone has mentioned Hertford (Kings Cross, Moorgate and Liverpool Street - which considering how small a town Hertford is is pretty good going!)

I mentioned "Great Northern to Kings Cross and Moorgate", but the question was about stations, not towns- trains from Hertford North don't run to Liverpool Street

 

[tbtc]

Since privatisation Manchester Piccadilly has had direct train services to Euston, Paddington, Waterloo and St Pancras. Only one of those remains.

(I appreciate that the OP didn't ask for historical examples though)

 

[swt_passenger]

And I had no idea SWT still ran from Fareham to London via the Portsmouth Direct line...

It's a bit of a classic fudge really.

The train in question used to run ECS from Northam through to Havant and start there as a peak extra towards Waterloo. According to the track access application made prior to it being introduced it was to improve performance, but the reasoning is pretty amazing:

The extension of the current SX 1656 Havant-Waterloo to start back from Fareham at 1643 is a performance initiative aimed at improving the punctuality of the service in the Havant area. Currently the service changes Train ID and service code at Havant and this has caused Havant signal box problems with identifying the train and led to subsequent delays. It will also provide an additional direct passenger service from Fareham to Waterloo without consuming additional capacity.

The odd thing is that the same thing happens an hour previously, but that ECS move wasn't changed...

 

[NSE]

Little bit different as it involves the tube, but, Wimbledon has access to Waterloo (SWT) Blackfriars/Farringdon/St.P/Kings Cross (Thameslink), Victoria/Paddington/Charing Cross/Cannon Street/Fenchurch Street (District) and London Bridge (Southern & certain late night/engineering/weekends with FCC).

I know it's slightly invalid as it includes tube, but that's all but Liverpool Street, Euston, Moorgate and Marylebone.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

I mentioned "Great Northern to Kings Cross and Moorgate", but the question was about stations, not towns- trains from Hertford North don't run to Liverpool Street

Ah yes, you're right. My bad, I read the original question as 'towns' but it was stations.

 

[D365]

Finsbury Park has/will have many routes into London: Moorgate (Northern City), Kings Cross (Great Northern electrics, Victoria, Piccadilly), and from 2018, Thameslink to St. Pancras, London Bridge and more!

 

[Cletus]

Dover Priory - Charing Cross, Cannon Street, Victoria, St Pancras.

Ashford International too (+ Thameslink services).

Plus, for a few days only because of overrunning engineering works - London Blackfriars.
Also stopping at Elephant & Castle, I wonder if that's ever happened before?

 

[Class172]

Droitwich Spa (and sometimes Malvern) receive services to all city centre stations in Birmingham (New St/Snow Hill/Moor St).

 

[ATW Alex 101]

Chester has 2 different operators operating 2 different route into Manchester
Northern Rail via Altrincham and Stockport
Arriva via Helsby and Warrington

Carlisle has 2 operators operating to Preston via different routes
Virgin via WCML
Northern via Cumbrian Coast

Glasgow has 2 separate operators to Newcastle via different routes
Scotrail via Carlisle and Metrocentre
XC via Edinburgh and Alnmouth

Also has Carlisle
Scotrail via Gretna green
Virgin via Motherwell

Peterborough has 2 separate routes to Doncaster
East Coast via ECML
EMT via their route (Don't know what it's called sorry)

Doncaster to Retford has 2 routes
Northern via Sheffield and Worksop
East coast via ECML

 

[tsr]

Leeds - London St Pancras & London Kings Cross.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Shrewsbury to Swansea/Llanelli via Newport or Llandod.
Lancaster-Carlisle via Penrith or Ravenglass.
Worcester-Paddington via Oxford or Swindon.
Nottingham-Peterborough via Grantham or Oakham.
Edinburgh-Perth via Kirkcaldy or Stirling.
Carlisle-Glasgow via Carstairs or Kilmarnock.
York-Sheffield via Leeds or Doncaster (or Pontefract).
London-Southampton via Guildford or Horsham.
Chester-Manchester via Warrington or Knutsford.
Oxford-London via Reading or (soon) High Wycombe.
Birmingham-Cardiff via Chepstow or Bristol Parkway.

 

[dvboy]

Leamington Spa -two routes into Birmingham

 

[Mutant Lemming]

In a reverse of the above is Maidstone the only place to have a service from two different stations in the town using different routes to the same major London station ?

 

[dvboy]

In a reverse of the above is Maidstone the only place to have a service from two different stations in the town using different routes to the same major London station ?

I think Canterbury does too.

 

[Par]

Preston to Manchester Vic & Picc?

 

[Mutant Lemming]

I think Canterbury does too.

Indeed it does but such a long trip to Victoria on the 05:36 from Canterbury West. Both routes merge at Bromley South for the run in to Victoria though unlike the Maidstone example where neither route shares metals at all.

 

[bewildered]

Leeds to York via Harrogate
Leeds to York via Garforth
Leeds to Bradford Interchange
Leeds to Bradford Forster Square

 

[mister-sparky]

In a reverse of the above is Maidstone the only place to have a service from two different stations in the town using different routes to the same major London station ?

services from East go to Victoria or Blackfriars. services from West go (peak only) to St Pancras.

so whats the "same major London station"?

 

[Rich McLean]

Penzance/Plymouth - Paddington via Westbury
Penzance/Plymouth - Paddington via Bristol

 

[tractakid]

Milton Keynes Central only has services to 1 London Terminus, Euston, but also has services stopping on the WLL- Shepherd's Bush, Kensington (Olympia) (which I believe used to be in the London stations group), West Brompton, which can fulfill a similar purpose to the terminating services at Euston.

Also, in the future, Chiltern may provide a service to Marylebone, after the East West link is in service.

 

[12CSVT]

Glasgow to Edinburgh probably has the most routes and permutations of routes between two adjacent major cities, with regular services via Falkirk High, Airdrie / Bathgate, Shotts, and Carstairs (and services via Carstairs can go via either Wishaw or Garriongill Jct).

Other permutations of routes which could apply during engineering works include Springburn / Cumbernauld, Falkirk Grahamston, Bellshill / Mossend Jcts / Motherwell, Holytown / Wishaw, plus several others, of which there are too many to mention them all.

 

[Tomonthetrain]

SGB has services on low level to New Street and High Level to Moor Street and Snow Hill

Partick has services to Glasgow Central and Queen Street

Anniesland has services to both Queen Street high level and low level

Hereford has services to New Street plus 2c71 to moor street and snow hill

Salford Crescent has services to Manchester Victoria on 1 line and Deansgate, Oxford Road and Picadilly on the other.

Leeds has services to both Bradford stations.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Leeds has services to both Bradford stations.

As does Kings Cross, Doncaster and Wakefield with it's two stations!

Before it was split, the 'Grand Tour' meant Wakefield Westgate and Kirkgate had services between them to either Bradford station by 3 different(-ish) routes and by 3 different operators.

Leeds-Sheffield has fast services via Wakefield Westgate/Swinton (XC); Kirkgate/Barnsley (Northern); and Doncaster (EMT). Not to mention stoppers by Northern on both Wakefield routes, plus the weekdays only peak PM service via Huddersfield and Penistone, albeit in one direction only.

There's also Reading, Bristol/Bath and Exeter both having services to different London termini by FGW and SWT, in the case of St. Davids leaving in opposite directions.

 

[PR1Berske]

Preston to Manchester Vic & Picc?

Am I mad or was there a direct Preston - Paddington service at some time in recent memory?

 

[craigwilson]

services from East go to Victoria or Blackfriars. services from West go (peak only) to St Pancras.

so whats the "same major London station"?

Those services to Blackfriars continue onto Bedford, also calling at St Pancras.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Am I mad or was there a direct Preston - Paddington service at some time in recent memory?

No you're not.
Old XC used to run WCML-Birmingham-Oxford-Paddington a couple of times a day.
The origin of the trains varied over the years, but Glasgow/Edinburgh via Preston were certainly used.
Might have run via Manchester too.

 

[PR1Berske]

No you're not.
Old XC used to run WCML-Birmingham-Oxford-Paddington a couple of times a day.
The origin of the trains varied over the years, but Glasgow/Edinburgh via Preston were certainly used.
Might have run via Manchester too.

Good man, cheers for that, if I concentrate hard enough I can just about recall the departure screens showing it!

 

[Anvil1984]

On a Sunday you can go Newcastle - Darlington via Durham or via Hartlepool

 

[t_star2001uk]

Aylesbury is another. To London either via Amersham or High Wycombe.....