Trivia: Longest end to end service with an inter-peak frequency of every 15 minutes or better

[GordonT]

Criteria: i) Excluding London Underground but including Overground and Elizabeth Line; ii) The frequency must be sustained for at least the 10am to 3pm time period; iii) Each journey should have the same stopping pattern; iv) The service must be from Terminal 'A' to Terminal 'B' and whilst it is not essential that either or both termini are at "the end of their line or lines" any other services which do not commence their complete journey at 'A' and finish their complete journey at 'B' do not count towards the overall frequency; v) Longest denotes mileage by rail rather than journey time.

 

[PGAT]

Shenfield to Paddington: 6 trains per hour (25 miles)

 

[greatkingrat]

Might be cheating slightly but what about West Kirby - West Kirby?

 

[Haywain]

Might be cheating slightly but what about West Kirby - West Kirby?

A mere 21 miles end to end!

Reading to Abbey Wood?

 

[Babybirdrobin]

Might be cheating slightly but what about West Kirby - West Kirby?

Also cheating but Chester to Chester?
Although is that half-hourly?

 

[jfowkes]

Reading to Abbey Wood?

Only half-hourly outside the peaks.

 

[ctrh136]

Only half-hourly outside the peaks.

Maidenhead to Abbey Wood though?

 

[mattdickinson]

Criteria: i) Excluding London Underground but including Overground and Elizabeth Line; ii) The frequency must be sustained for at least the 10am to 3pm time period; iii) Each journey should have the same stopping pattern; iv) The service must be from Terminal 'A' to Terminal 'B' and whilst it is not essential that either or both termini are at "the end of their line or lines" any other services which do not commence their complete journey at 'A' and finish their complete journey at 'B' do not count towards the overall frequency; v) Longest denotes mileage by rail rather than journey time.

What about Shoeburyness to Fenchurch Street?

 

[JonathanH]

Paddington to Swindon is 77 miles, with 5tph, but not evenly spaced, and some variation with the calls at Didcot.

Gets close with xx00, xx15, xx30, xx32, xx48 though.

None of them end at Swindon though which invalidates it.

 

[Trainguy34]

What about Shoeburyness to Fenchurch Street?

Fails rule 3, 2tph stop at Pitsea.

 

[jfowkes]

Maidenhead to Abbey Wood though?

Doesn't fulfil the "same stopping pattern" criteria because the Maidenheads don't stop at Taplow and the Readings don't stop at Iver. Also I don't think it fulfils the "The service must be from Terminal 'A' to Terminal 'B'" condition based on my reading of it.

 

[greatkingrat]

Also cheating but Chester to Chester?
Although is that half-hourly?

It is 4tph, but they don't all stop at Capenhurst, which disqualifies it.

Although I suppose you could argue every train stops there on either the way to Liverpool, or the way back, but not both.

 

[mattdickinson]

Doesn't fulfil the "same stopping pattern" criteria because the Maidenheads don't stop at Taplow and the Readings don't stop at Iver. Also I don't think it fulfils the "The service must be from Terminal 'A' to Terminal 'B'" condition based on my reading of it.

I think Abbey Wood to Heathrow Terminal 4 might do it.

 

[PGAT]

I think Abbey Wood to Heathrow Terminal 4 might do it.

Indeed it is valid

 

[nw1]

Anything in Scotland?

 

[D7666]

deleted.

 

[PGAT]

What part of excluding Elizabeth line did you miss ?


.

It explicitly says "Excluding London Underground but including Overground and Elizabeth Line"

 

[D7666]

It explicitly says "Excluding London Underground but including Overground and Elizabeth Line"

yep
i mis read it right after i posted i saw it
then got cut off and took me 8 min to get back on
in the mean time you saw it
i deleted my post now

i was actually mid edit and was going on to :

Cheriton Coquelles truck shuttles I think maintain 4 tph weekdays off peak and is 61 km = 38 miles

and are not excluded in the OP as it says nothing about train type

 

[jfowkes]

Cheriton Coquelles truck shuttles I think maintain 4 tph weekdays off peak

and are not excluded in the op as it says nothing about train type

I make that about 36 miles, which narrowly beats Abbey Wood to Terminal 4 (30 miles 44ch). So if journeys originating in the UK but terminating outside count, that's highest found so far I think.

 

[D7666]

I make that about 36 miles, which narrowly beats Abbey Wood to Terminal 4 (30 miles 44ch). So if journeys originating in the UK but terminating outside count, that's highest found so far I think.

actually I bet the OP wasn't thinking about things like that and probably meant domestic passenger trains

nontheless is a valid answer within the original wording

 

[Haywain]

On a domestic level, South Shields to St James on the Tyne & Wear Metro must be close.

 

[D7666]

Might be cheating slightly but what about West Kirby - West Kirby?

already proven not the answer as there are other longer ones elsewhere, but on Merseyrail isn't Southport - Hunts Cross one way longer than WK/WK out and back loop.

 

[Ianigsy]

Southport to Hunts Cross is 26.25 miles.

Much longer and you start to see the benefits of skipping stops so the people from furthest out don’t have a chronically slow journey.

St James to South Shields (Tyne & Wear Metro yellow line) comes out at around 31.5 miles.

 

[gnolife]

Also cheating but Chester to Chester?
Although is that half-hourly?

Every other train skips Capenhurst on that route

 

[GordonT]

actually I bet the OP wasn't thinking about things like that and probably meant domestic passenger trains

nontheless is a valid answer within the original wording

I hadn't thought of that option but agree that it meets the criteria.

Anything in Scotland?

Where routes in Scotland enjoy a high frequency they tend to be an amalgamation of different services which have different termini and sometimes different calling patterns. There is the Glasgow subway but as it has an Inner Circle and an Outer Circle with no fixed termini it wouldn't meet the criteria either.

 

[jfowkes]

There is the Glasgow subway but as it has an Inner Circle and an Outer Circle with no fixed termini it wouldn't meet the criteria either.

Even if it met the criteria it's only like 6 miles long.

Does the Tyne and Wear metro count, or are you vetoing trams/light rail?

 

[GordonT]

Even if it met the criteria it's only like 6 miles long.

Does the Tyne and Wear metro count, or are you vetoing trams/light rail?

All trams and light rail in UK are included with the one exception of London Underground services.

 

[DanNCL]

Between 2002 and 2005 you’d have had St James - South Hylton on the Tyne & Wear Metro which I think would have beaten every example already mentioned? But not a current example.

 

[AndrewJM70]

London to Leicester - 98 miles or so - almost same stopping patterns, just two variations. 4 trains per hour.

 

[JonathanH]

London to Leicester - 98 miles or so - almost same stopping patterns, just two variations. 4 trains per hour.

Just like Swindon, the services don't terminate at Leicester, so it doesn't qualify.