Trivia: Longest scheduled non-stop run on any National Rail service

[kieron]

Similarly there is one northbound TPE (M-F) that runs non stop Carlisle - Haymarket.

EDIT - I've found one that trumps that - the 18.40 Glasgow Central to Birmingham New Street on Saturdays, runs non stop Glasgow-Carlisle (102 miles)

Picking up on this, you can go further between stops on a non-London train.

The 0825 from Glasgow Central to Manchester Victoria (which happens to be the only train all week between those stations) is also non-stop between Glasgow and Carlisle, but that one goes via Bellshill between Uddingston and Motherwell. According to railmiles, this is a 103.3 mile non-stop run.

On another tangent, the train above takes 1 hour 21 minutes between stops, using WTT times.

When it's not diverted, the Tuesday-Friday 03:25 from Sheffield to Manchester Airport goes from Sheffield to Manchester Piccadilly non-stop via Swinton and Wakefield Kirkgate, taking 1 hour 27 minutes to cover the 67.6 mile journey. There are London trains all day with more than 2 hours between stops, but I don't know if there's a longer journey in this sense on a train which doesn't go to London.

Apart from sleepers (which are deliberately slow), I don't know if there's a train with a longer gap between stops where this isn't between London and the stop after it, either.

 

[mm333]

April 2006 I took a Preston-Carlisle via the S&C diversion. I think it took about 3 hours to do the 113 miles non-stop.

 

[MotCO]

15:41 Reading - Edinburgh (Sundays) is nonstop, I'm sure there was another one on a weekday which is nonstop

Looking at RTT for last Sunday, the 15.41 stopped at Oxford, Banbury, Leamington Spa, Coventry, Birmingham International, Birmingham New Street (reverses - must stop there!), Derby, Sheffield, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham, Newcastle and Edinburgh. Apart from these stations, it is non-stop!!

edit: I think the poster meant non-stop fron Newcastle to Edinburgh

 

[Kite159]

Looking at RTT for last Sunday, the 15.41 stopped at Oxford, Banbury, Leamington Spa, Coventry, Birmingham International, Birmingham New Street (reverses - must stop there!), Derby, Sheffield, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham, Newcastle and Edinburgh. Apart from these stations, it is non-stop!!

edit: I think the poster meant non-stop fron Newcastle to Edinburgh

That I did, it was in reference to a XC service which ran non-stop from Newcastle to Edinburgh as pretty much everything else XC calls at some of the stations on that route.

You can get from Birmingham International to Derby without a reversal (via New Street), go towards Selly Oak and use the curve onto the Camp Hill line to go round in a circle

 

[SteelWeelApeal]

I think the winner for the longest non stop run (in terms of time, not distance) on a train not serving London is Shrewsbury to Newport on 1V93 0830 Llandudno to Cardiff Central at 1 hour 28 minutes.

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/P16570/2019/03/14/advanced

 

[cle]

I think the winner for the longest non stop run (in terms of time, not distance) on a train not serving London is Shrewsbury to Newport on 1V93 0830 Llandudno to Cardiff Central at 1 hour 28 minutes.

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/P16570/2019/03/14/advanced

Wow, did not know about this service and surprised to see it miss Hereford.

Good precedent for what I think should be a faster stopping pattern on the Manchester services, to make them more 'inter-city'.

 

[cuccir]

I think the winner for the longest non stop run (in terms of time, not distance) on a train not serving London is Shrewsbury to Newport on 1V93 0830 Llandudno to Cardiff Central at 1 hour 28 minutes.

Yes, beats Newcastle to Edinburgh by 6 minutes!

 

[Killingworth]

Still think the regular steam hauled Elizabethan in the late 1950s, early 1960s, must win historically on the longest non- stop national service. It ran every weekday for quite a few years, and was quick. Air travel had already started to cream off 1st class business between the capitals, and between Newcastle and London. Rail was fighting back. The Flying Scotsman trailled behind the Elizabethan which deserves more historical attention.

 

[kieron]

I think the winner for the longest non stop run (in terms of time, not distance) on a train not serving London is Shrewsbury to Newport on 1V93 0830 Llandudno to Cardiff Central at 1 hour 28 minutes.

The 2331 from Manchester Airport to Sheffield just beats it, being allowed 1 hour 31 minutes from Manchester Piccadilly to Sheffield. It's the same route as the last one I mentioned, except that this one goes through Rotherham Central instead of Masborough.

From May, TPE will run 1tpd each way between Liverpool and Edinburgh via Berwick. These have even longer in the schedule between Edinburgh and Newcastle, but I don't know how the timings will work in practice.

 

[VT 390]

The 2331 from Manchester Airport to Sheffield just beats it, being allowed 1 hour 31 minutes from Manchester Piccadilly to Sheffield. It's the same route as the last one I mentioned, except that this one goes through Rotherham Central instead of Masborough.

From May, TPE will run 1tpd each way between Liverpool and Edinburgh via Berwick. These have even longer in the schedule between Edinburgh and Newcastle, but I don't know how the timings will work in practice.

I thought that these services will stop at Morpeth though so will this mean that the non stop Edinburgh to Morpeth part of the journey will be longer than 1 hour 31 minutes?

 

[mm333]

I thought that these services will stop at Morpeth though so will this mean that the non stop Edinburgh to Morpeth part of the journey will be longer than 1 hour 31 minutes?

There's one currently in RTT. Dep Newcastle at 2326, arrive Edinburgh at 0114 in the timetable (1 hr 48) or 0104 in the working timetable (1h38) http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/Y72201/2019/05/23/advanced

 

[Mag_seven]

The 2331 from Manchester Airport to Sheffield just beats it, being allowed 1 hour 31 minutes from Manchester Piccadilly to Sheffield.

There is an unadvertised stop at Huddersfield for a crew change so it is not "non stop" from Manchester Piccadilly to Sheffield even though it will be advertised in the public timetable as such.

 

[cuccir]

There's one currently in RTT. Dep Newcastle at 2326, arrive Edinburgh at 0114 in the timetable (1 hr 48) or 0104 in the working timetable (1h38) http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/Y72201/2019/05/23/advanced

How odd; I know the plan is to run TPE services Liverpool - Newcastle - Edinnburgh but I didn't think they were being launched yet. Is this one-a-day a route learning thing?

 

[mm333]

How odd; I know the plan is to run TPE services Liverpool - Newcastle - Edinnburgh but I didn't think they were being launched yet. Is this one-a-day a route learning thing?

Currently RTT has 1 passenger service each way and 2 ECSs each way: http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/sea...3/0200-0159?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt&toc=TP

 

[_toommm_]

There is an unadvertised stop at Huddersfield for a crew change so it is not "non stop" from Manchester Piccadilly to Sheffield even though it will be advertised in the public timetable as such.

I've never seen it stop at Huddersfield though in my experience.

 

[kieron]

I thought that these services will stop at Morpeth though so will this mean that the non stop Edinburgh to Morpeth part of the journey will be longer than 1 hour 31 minutes?

This was based on a train which doesn't call at Morpeth. There's a daily (except Sunday) Edinburgh-Liverpool train in the timetable from May (here, here and here), none of which stop in Morpeth on any day. There's also a daily Liverpool-Edinburgh train. The weekday trains (here) don't stop in Morpeth, but the weekend ones (here and here) do.

I don't know how this relates to anything in the train service requirement, although TPE is supposed to make that its first priority.

I've never seen it stop at Huddersfield though in my experience.

The train on Friday (here) was reported to have spent 45 seconds in Huddersfield, even though it was already late (it clawed back the 5 minute delay by the time it reached Wakefield). There was a delayed York train (here) in front of it, but they were still 5 minutes apart after that left Huddersfield.

The schedule does allocate 90 seconds to it in Huddersfield. This does add to the scheduled time between stations, whatever happens on the day.

 

[Clansman]

Only counting passenger stops, the longest would be the Inverness portion of the Highlander Sleeper, when it's diverted via Fife and the ECML - Perth to London, which is roughly 9-10 hours when this happens (which it has a few times recently on particular Sundays, if I remember rightly?)

Other than that I'd guess it'd be the LNER flyer from Edinburgh to KX that runs non stop from Newcastle every morning.

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

Only counting passenger stops, the longest would be the Inverness portion of the Highlander Sleeper, when it's diverted via Fife and the ECML - Perth to London, which is roughly 9-10 hours when this happens (which it has a few times recently on particular Sundays, if I remember rightly?)

Other than that I'd guess it'd be the LNER flyer from Edinburgh to KX that runs non stop from Newcastle every morning.

I'm doing that very service in a few months' time

 

[Western Lord]

Many references to the Elizabethan. The non-stop London-Edinburgh service was (re)-introduced in 1948 and was summer only (April-September) and was, in fact, the summer iteration of The Flying Scotsman. The Elizabethan name came later (obviously) after the accession of Queen Elizabeth II. In August 1948 when floods washed away bridges on the ECML between Berwick and Dunbar, the service was diverted to run from Tweedmouth to St. Boswells thence to Edinburgh on the Waverley route, a distance of 408 miles. At first a water stop was arranged at Galashiels as the first troughs were at Belford, 90 miles from Edinburgh. However, on August 24th 1948 the crew of A4 60029 Woodcock did the southbound run non-stop and before the end of the summer service the feat had been achieved on a further sixteen occasions, eight in each direction. These were world record non-stop runs at the time and certainly remain the UK record runs.

 

[DelticCrepello]

On the Exeter St David's to Reading now. Left just on midday, arriving 13.31. Longest non stop, between stations, I have been on.

 

[tom73]

I thoroughly enjoy London King's Cross to York non-stop but is there a longer section of non-stop running?

 

[CommuterPigeon]

There's a Newcastle to Kings Cross non-stop, leaves Newcastle around 7am if I remember correctly.

 

[Marton]

There's a Newcastle to Kings Cross non-stop, leaves Newcastle around 7am if I remember correctly.

0705.

 

[Glenn1969]

0720 and 0822 Warrington BQ - Euston

Does anything go non stop from further North on the WCML?

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

Preston to Watford Junction on the Lowland Sleeper.

 

[alangla]

VT used to run a Euston to Glasgow in the PM peak that only stopped at Preston. They ran one non-stop once, but that was a stunt. Either way, the Newcastle one seems to win for a regular service

 

[Statto]

Couple of GWR trains go non stop Reading-Exeter dont they?

 

[thenorthern]

London to Newcastle I think is the longest.

The highland sleeper I think runs from Edinburgh to London but does not pick up passengers at Preston or Crewe so that sort of counts.

If we include the Eurostar I think there are some that run non stop London to Paris not sure the distance but I think it's more than London to Newcastle.

 

[StephenHunter]

There's a Newcastle to Kings Cross non-stop, leaves Newcastle around 7am if I remember correctly.

Yep, the Flying Scotsman. Runs southbound only these days. Back in steam days, it was non-stop with crew changes via corridor tender.

 

[Scotrail84]

If you don't include a quick driver change at Preston then the Lowlander sleeper from Carlisle to Watford and vice versa.

The Highlander sleeper from Edinburgh to Preston and vice versa too.