TRIVIA: Longer Distance Route is Faster Than The Short Route

[Doomotron]

I was having a conversation today about the distance between Canterbury East and West. These two stations are in the same town, but they take a while to walk to the other. Are there any places in the UK where going a longer distance actually is faster than the short route? And, for bonus points, are there any towns or cities with multiple stations that aren't connected where it's faster to take an indirect train between the two (the long route) than to walk between them (the short route)?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

If I've understood the gist of this thread correctly, it's probably quicker to get a train from Falkirk High to Polmont, and change there for another train, this time from Polmont to Falkirk Grahamston, than it is to walk down the hill directly between the two Falkirk stations.

(And even more so if you're walking in the reverse direction, i.e. uphill, from Falkirk Grahamston to Falkirk High, which always seems a right old schlep from the town centre).

 

[Alex365Dash]

Are there any places in the UK where going a longer distance actually is faster than the short route?

Guildford to London Waterloo - timed 63 minutes on the slow train via Cobham at 30 miles*, whilst it’s timed at 41 minutes on the semi-fast and 33 minutes on the fast via Woking at 30.25 miles*. Mind you, the shortest route isn’t short by much!

Although that does come with the caveat that when a peak train does run fast from Guildford (from Portsmouth) to Waterloo via Cobham, it’s timed at 36 minutes, which is faster than the semi-fast stopper from Portsmouth but is still slower (by 3 minutes!) than the regular fast from Portsmouth via Woking.

*Distances obtained from the National Rail Timetable and are rounded to the nearest quarter mile.

 

[Watershed]

are there any towns or cities with multiple stations that aren't connected where it's faster to take an indirect train between the two (the long route) than to walk between them (the short route)?

Manchester Piccadilly and Victoria are connected by an hourly service over the Ordsall Chord, which takes 9 minutes for a 'clean' run with a stop at Oxford Road. It takes about 20 minutes to walk between the two. There is also the Metrolink, which takes 10 mins and runs every 10 mins.

 

[i4n]

I was having a conversation today about the distance between Canterbury East and West. These two stations are in the same town, but they take a while to walk to the other. Are there any places in the UK where going a longer distance actually is faster than the short route? And, for bonus points, are there any towns or cities with multiple stations that aren't connected where it's faster to take an indirect train between the two (the long route) than to walk between them (the short route)?

You can walk between the two stations quicker than you can get a train between the two of them, it's about 1:30 to go between the two via Faversham/Ramsgate and and longer via Dover/Ashford and Dover/Ramsgate

 

[norbitonflyer]

I was having a conversation today about the distance between Canterbury East and West. These two stations are in the same town, but they take a while to walk to the other. Are there any places in the UK where going a longer distance actually is faster than the short route? And, for bonus points, are there any towns or cities with multiple stations that aren't connected where it's faster to take an indirect train between the two (the long route) than to walk between them (the short route)?

How about Victoria to London Bridge? 58 minutes on direct train via Crystal Palace, 3 miles on foot.

Wandsworth Town to Wandsworth Common - 19 minutes by changing at Clapham Junction, 1.8 miles on foot (c38 minutes)

 

[Mcr Warrior]

How about Victoria to London Bridge? 58 minutes on direct train via Crystal Palace, 3 miles on foot.

Depends on your typical walking speed. That journey could well be faster, slower or exactly the same!

 

[Ken H]

Settle to Giggleswick. national rail sends you via Skipton. Its shorter changing at long Preston or Hellifield, but you may have a long wait. 20 mins walk, or the 581 bus. Or the (infrequent) 11 and get off where is crosses the A65 bypass between Giggleswick and Rathmell.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Settle to Giggleswick. national rail sends you via Skipton. Its shorter changing at long Preston or Hellifield, but you may have a long wait.

Only six minutes or so, on the train from Settle to Long Preston and similar from Long Preston to Giggleswick.

Are there ever any connections that would make Settle -> Giggleswick (or vice-versa) quicker by train, rather than by walking.

Not all that much at Long Preston station if there isn't!

 

[Ken H]

Only six minutes or so, on the train from Settle to Long Preston and similar from Long Preston to Giggleswick.

Are there ever any connections that would make Settle -> Giggleswick (or vice-versa) quicker by train, rather than by walking.

Not all that much at Long Preston station if there isn't!

Change at Hellifield. More trains stop there and there is a caff.

 

[scragend]

Manchester Piccadilly and Victoria are connected by an hourly service over the Ordsall Chord, which takes 9 minutes for a 'clean' run with a stop at Oxford Road. It takes about 20 minutes to walk between the two. There is also the Metrolink, which takes 10 mins and runs every 10 mins.

But in that example the two stations are connected, and it would be a direct train.

Before the Chord was built, if you could have gone Piccadilly to Salford Crescent, and then changed and gone Crescent to Victoria, while still being quicker than walking, then that would have met the criteria.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Change at Hellifield. More trains stop there and there is a caff.

Bit longer to travel via / change at Hellifield. Maybe 2 x nine minutes on the train. Might just be quicker to walk.

P.S. Is the café (= 'Shed24H'?) at Hellifield back open again now?

 

[Doomotron]

You can walk between the two stations quicker than you can get a train between the two of them, it's about 1:30 to go between the two via Faversham/Ramsgate and and longer via Dover/Ashford and Dover/Ramsgate

I know, I mentioned it because that's where I got the idea for the thread from.

 

[zwk500]

Not exactly in the same town, but Lewes to Uckfield is 8-10 miles, so walking would be around 2-3 hours depending on speed. By train requires to go up to East Croydon and Change, National Rail Enquiries gives a time of 2h39 off-peak, down to a minimum of 2h01 in the peak.

 

[Gloster]

What about Tyndrum Lower to Upper (in that direction only)?

 

[alistairlees]

Liverpool Lime Street to Moorfields is quicker to walk than to get two trains. The reverse is not true.
Same for Liverpool Central to Liverpool Lime Street.

 

[MontyP]

How about Victoria to London Bridge? 58 minutes on direct train via Crystal Palace, 3 miles on foot.

Wandsworth Town to Wandsworth Common - 19 minutes by changing at Clapham Junction, 1.8 miles on foot (c38 minutes)

Similarly Earlsfield to Wandsworth Common is a shorter distance to walk but quicker by train via Clapham Junction.

Other similar ones:
Wimbledon Chase to Raynes Park
New Malden to Motspur Park, Worcester Park, Malden Manor via Raynes Park
All assuming that the connection is timed right!

 

[Mike99]

What about Penge East to Penge West? , about 10 - 15 min walk, but by train, would be Penge East - Beckenham Junction - Crystal Palace - Norwood Junction - Penge West

 

[zwk500]

What about Penge East to Penge West? , about 10 - 15 min walk, but by train, would be Penge East - Beckenham Junction - Crystal Palace - Norwood Junction - Penge West

The train is unlikely to be shorter than the walk if that's the route?

 

[Bigchris]

Times vary depending on the time of day but mid-morning Thorne South-Thorne North, changing at Hatfield & Stainforth can take 1:10, walking it's 1.3 miles so for me about 15 minutes. Each leg of the train journey is only 5 minutes but the departure to Thorne North is 1 minute before the arrival from Thorne South so a 59 minute wait at Hatfield & Stainforth! It's quicker in the other direction but still takes longer than walking.

 

[notlob.divad]

St Helens Central and either St Helens Junction or Lea Green changing at Huyton would almost certainly be faster than walking for most people at most times of day.

However a bus would be quicker than both.

 

[Spartacus]

South Elmsall and Moorthorpe are in the same ward.... Depart South Elmsall at 2245 to Fitzwilliam and you can be in Moorthorpe at 2302, a whole 2 minutes quicker than Google maps claims it will take to walk it.

 

[TXMISTA]

The SWR service between Richmond and Kingston takes 18 minutes to travel roughly 5 miles. By contrast, the 65 bus can take up to 30 mins to travel 4 miles between the two stations.

I always opt for the 65 though as it feels a lot quicker than travelling all the way around the Thames twice on SWR.

 

[_toommm_]

P.S. Is the café (= 'Shed24H'?) at Hellifield back open again now?

It is - I was there Tuesday changing trains.

 

[i4n]

I know, I mentioned it because that's where I got the idea for the thread from.

Ahhh, sorry, I thought the question was where can you go the long way on the train and it's quicker than the shorter walk.

My mistake.

 

[Mike99]

The train is unlikely to be shorter than the walk if that's the route?

Apologies I got the OP suggestions round the wrong way. I was born in Penge so I enjoyed typing that out

 

[kieron]

With Runcorn-Runcorn East, cyclestreets.net gives a distance of 3.75 miles, and says it would take 33 minutes to cycle with a speed of 10mph. It can be as little as 22 minutes by train according to fastjp.com.

 

[Berliner]

If I've understood the gist of this thread correctly, it's probably quicker to get a train from Falkirk High to Polmont, and change there for another train, this time from Polmont to Falkirk Grahamston, than it is to walk down the hill directly between the two Falkirk stations.

(And even more so if you're walking in the reverse direction, i.e. uphill, from Falkirk Grahamston to Falkirk High, which always seems a right old schlep from the town centre).

Perhaps Edinburgh Park and South Gyle are the same story? The tram links Edinburgh Park with Gateway in a few minutes so that's technically ruled out. But the shortest train journey between EP and SG is 15 minutes via Haymarket and it takes 21 minutes to walk.

 

[Springs Branch]

Westhoughton near Bolton is served by both Westhoughton and Daisy Hill stations.
One is on the northern side of town, the other on the southern, with neither particularly convenient for the town centre.
It's a 26 min walk between the stations according to Google Maps (which is probably about right).

By train DSY to WHG can be done in 20 - 21 min off-peak, changing at Hindley (with one or two faster options in the peak ~16 mins).
The reverse, WHG to DSY doesn't have such favourable connections at Hindley, meaning 27 - 32 mins off-peak in this direction.
(The hourly 516 bus is direct and takes 7 mins)

 

[Metal_gee_man]

I was having a conversation today about the distance between Canterbury East and West. These two stations are in the same town, but they take a while to walk to the other. Are there any places in the UK where going a longer distance actually is faster than the short route? And, for bonus points, are there any towns or cities with multiple stations that aren't connected where it's faster to take an indirect train between the two (the long route) than to walk between them (the short route)?

This is why the local politician WAS trying to get funding and the idea off the ground for Canterbury Parkway Station where both train line cross behind Wincheap Ind Est to help Ashford passengers getting to Faversham and the reverse etc...etc...

It does seem to have fallen on deaf ears...