• 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!

Stockton-Darlington allowed?

Status
Not open for further replies.

tony_mac

Established Member
Joined
25 Feb 2009
Messages
3,626
Location
Liverpool
It's just a curiosity, but I can find no valid service from Stockton to Darlington.

Stockton's routeing points at Newcastle and Middlesbrough are not appropriate on price.

There is no direct service.

There is no service on the shortest route - which I think is directly from Eaglescliffe to Stockton (Grand Central appear to go this way), but no services stop at both stations.

Is there some other rule that should be used, or something that I've missed?
It would be amusing if this was correct, given the history of the route!
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

tony_mac

Established Member
Joined
25 Feb 2009
Messages
3,626
Location
Liverpool
obviously that's what you would do - but Thornaby isn't actually on the shortest route - there is a shorter, direct, line from Eaglescliffe to Stockton which doesn't go through Thornaby.
 

attics26

Member
Joined
9 Jun 2009
Messages
193
Sundays only - two services in either direction (darlo-hpool) calling at Stockton. As for the history of the line current Darlington Bank Top Station was on branch to Croft during Stockton Darlington (North Road) heyday.
 

glynn80

Established Member
Joined
1 Jun 2008
Messages
1,666
There is no service on the shortest route - which I think is directly from Eaglescliffe to Stockton (Grand Central appear to go this way), but no services stop at both stations.

There is a slightly longer definition of Shortest Route validity in the Section F PDF of the routeing guide.

NRG said:
To look up a journey in the Routeing Guide, an origin and destination routeing point are needed. If a journey does not have an origin routeing point and a destination routeing point, its permitted route is (1) the shortest route served by a regular passenger service or (2) a route no more then 3 miles longer or (3) any other route permitted by an easement.

So the question now is whether Stockton to Darlington via Thornaby is over 3 miles longer than the shortest route direct via Eaglescliffe.

CORE said:
Shortest route from Stockton to Darlington
Distance: 11 miles 67 chains
From Stockton to Eaglescliffe, to Darlington.

Shortest route from Stockton to Thornaby
Distance: 2 miles 22 chains
From Stockton
to Thornaby.

Shortest route from Thornaby to Darlington
Distance: 11 miles 63 chains
From Thornaby
to Eaglescliffe,
to Darlington.

2 miles 22 chains + 11 miles 63 chains= 14 miles 5 chains

14 miles 5 chains - 11 miles 67 chains= 2 miles 19 chains

2 miles 19 chains is less than 3 miles and therefore the route via Thornaby is permitted. You can also double back via Middlesborough as Thornaby is a member of the Middlesborough group.
 
Last edited:

John @ home

Established Member
Joined
1 Mar 2008
Messages
5,148
I can find no valid service from Stockton to Darlington.

Darlington is a routeing point.
The routeing points for Stockton are Middlesbrough Group and Newcastle.
Middlesborough Group comprises Eaglescliffe, Middlesbrough and Thornaby.

Newcastle fails the fares check.
Checking Middlesbrough Group:
Darlington - Stockton SDS £4, SDR £4.10.
Darlington - Eaglescliffe SDS £3.60, CDR £3.70 (B1), SDR £3.80.
So Middlesbrough Group passes the fares check.

The only map appropriate to a Darlington - Middlesbrough Group journey is map ER.

Map ER allows travel via Northallerton or Tees-side Airport or Newcastle. In addition, the rules for Group stations allow travel via Middlesbrough:

Section A - How to Use the National Routeing Guide said:
GROUP STATIONS
... A customer may travel via any station in a group, including doubling back, provided that the group is on one of the permitted routes between their origin and destination stations. This extended availability is for interchange purposes only and does not apply where the origin or destination stations are part of a group.

I can't spot any Easement relevant to this journey.

John
 

tony_mac

Established Member
Joined
25 Feb 2009
Messages
3,626
Location
Liverpool
ok, thanks for all that!
I hadn't thought of checking the other Middlesbrough group stations and also hadn't found the '3 mile' rule.

I also couldn't find any information, from the timetable, on the direct distance from Eaglescliffe to Stockton.
 

yorkie

Forum Staff
Staff Member
Administrator
Joined
6 Jun 2005
Messages
67,429
Location
Yorkshire
The 3 mile rule is only documented in the 'examples'. An example of how poorly worded the RG is!

Middlesbrough is permitted.

The shortest route over which regular passenger trains run is via Thornaby - you can't say that 3 trains per day at odd times is a "regular" service and I think it would be absurd if the creation of an open access operator meant that existing tickets became invalid for all but 3 journeys a day!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top