TRIVIA - Routes where it's difficult to catch a train stopping at every station

[flitwickbeds]

What routes exist where it's difficult, or even impossible, to get on a train and go to the end of the line without stopping at every station on the route?

Rarely served or parliamentary stations (Springfield, Tees-Side Airport, Clifton, Pevensey Bay...) cannot be included. I'm looking for routes where a regular (even if light) service is available to all the stations, just not on one train.

A few to kick off...

- Nottingham to Skegness and return
- Glasgow/Edinburgh to Inverness and return (Dalwhinnie is the main problem)
- The area around Dorking
- Exeter to Barnstaple and return
- Exeter to Salford and return

Anywhere else?

 

[gazthomas]

This seems to be contradictory when you read it

 

[Bevan Price]

This seems to be contradictory when you read it

Manchester Piccadilly to Glossop/Hadfield. Few stop at Ardwick, and Fairfield is mostly served by trains to Rose Hill via Hyde Central.

 

[alangla]

Assuming you mean where it’s difficult to stop at every station, Helensburgh to Edinburgh would count - Kilpatrick & Bowling are, IIRC, served only by Balloch or Dumbarton Central trains and for a load of the others they only stop there at night or on Sundays

 

[swt_passenger]

This seems to be contradictory when you read it

I agree. The title of the thread, and the first paragraph, seem to be the opposite of each other?

 

[Saperstein]

Yes the title needs updating.

If I read it correctly, my answer is:

The whole of the Merseyrail network.

Some services omit Capenhurst on the Wirral line though, but trains stop everywhere else.

Saperstein

 

[I13]

Taking it to mean difficult to catch a train calling at all stations, the Coventry - Birmingham corridor has just two up and one down services a day that do all stops.

 

[Kite159]

- Nottingham to Skegness and return, definitely, IIRC there is only the 0709 Skegness to Nottingham service which calls at all the stations to Grantham, but depending what you define as rarely served. For example Netherfield

- Glasgow/Edinburgh to Inverness and return, probably a good example as the Inverness trains from Glasgow tend to run fast to Stirling, then maybe some of the stations to Perth. And I believe there is only one train a day which calls at all the stations on the Highland Line. You could probably have Glasgow/Edinburgh to Aberdeen as well, as excluding the three parliamentary stations on Tayside I would imagine nothing calls at all the stations.

- The area around Dorking - There are a few Reading - Redhill services in the peaks which are nearly all stations (skips the three stations between Reading & Wokingham) I assume it relates to Chilworth/Gomshall & Dorking West/Betchworth alternating off-peak?

- Exeter to Barnstaple and return
Sundays is the best for all stations services on this line, but again how would you define rarely used stations.

- Exeter to Salford and return

Salford?
-----

You could add lines such as Paddington to Didcot Parkway, Waterloo to Exeter

 

[Glenn1969]

Edinburgh- Aberdeen line- Barry Links, Golf Street and Balmossie are not served by any through trains to Aberdeen unless I'm mistaken

 

[alangla]

- Glasgow/Edinburgh to Inverness and return, probably a good example as the Inverness trains from Glasgow tend to run fast to Stirling, then maybe some of the stations to Perth. And I believe there is only one train a day which calls at all the stations on the Highland Line. You could probably have Glasgow/Edinburgh to Aberdeen as well, as excluding the three parliamentary stations on Tayside I would imagine nothing calls at all the stations.

All stops used to be do-able as far as Dundee, believe it or not, but the current timetable shows the last couple of trains running fast to Larbert & Stirling instead of all stops as before

 

[johnnychips]

Derby to Crewe: hardly any stop at Peartree.

 

[1D53]

As ridiculous as it sounds, Leeds to York!

 

[Bertie the bus]

There are no services between Blackpool North and Preston that stop at all stations. There are 2 the other way M-F but none at weekends.

 

[Springs Branch]

.... I'm looking for routes where a regular (even if light) service is available to all the stations, just not on one train.?

Any "inter city" route.

For example, Euston to Glasgow Central - plenty of trains running end-to-end, and regular services at almost all intermediate stations, but cannot get a Euston-Glasgow train which stops at Bushey, Atherstone or Acton Bridge.

 

[Bertie the bus]

No services from Leeds - Man Vic via Halifax stop at all stations or Man Vic - Leeds.

 

[D365]

Great Northern surely. All trains north of Stevenage skip stops on their way down to Kings Cross or St Pancras.

Upon a second reading of OP’s post: I guess it’s not actually “difficult” to change trains here!

 

[Ianno87]

Tottenham Hale to Broxbourne. Easy to call all stations from Brimsdown northwards, but calling Northumberland Park and Meridian Water as well is tricky; a double-back is generally required to call at all of them.

 

[gazthomas]

On the basis of my new understanding, the Nortg Wales coast line or Thameslink services.

 

[tomwills98]

Hereford to Shrewsbury. The stopping pattern for Ludlow, Leominster, Church Stretton, and Craven Arms is all over the shop.

 

[GW43125]

Waterloo<->Reading. Only one train (05:05 off Waterloo in the morning) stops at the "little" stations between Waterloo and Staines, but it doesn't have a Longcross call.

To call at every station requires two changes: onto the Windsor at Staines and then onto a rounder at Twickenham.

 

[swt_passenger]

Waterloo<->Reading. Only one train (05:05 off Waterloo in the morning) stops at the "little" stations between Waterloo and Staines, but it doesn't have a Longcross call.

To call at every station requires two changes: onto the Windsor at Staines and then onto a rounder at Twickenham.

Any longer distance train from Waterloo, such as to Weymouth. There must be hundreds of routes nationally.

 

[Bertie the bus]

Any longer distance train from Waterloo, such as to Weymouth. There must be hundreds of routes nationally.

I think the question related to services where all stations on the route are served but there aren't any services that stop at them all, so Waterloo - Weymouth wouldn't count as no Waterloo - Weymouth services stop at Raynes Park, New Malden, etc, whereas all stations between Man Vic and Leeds are served by Man Vic - Leeds services but none are all stations stoppers.

 

[swt_passenger]

I think the question related to services where all stations on the route are served but there aren't any services that stop at them all, so Waterloo - Weymouth wouldn't count as no Waterloo - Weymouth services stop at Raynes Park, New Malden, etc, whereas there all stations between Man Vic and Leeds are served by Man Vic - Leeds services but none are all stations stoppers.

That’s covered by “impossible” in paragraph 1 though. Which is why the whole question is wide open...

 

[cle]

Swindon always occurred to me as a major place with largely inter-city connections, save some Golden Valley but those are migrating too.

 

[methethpropbut]

I'm gonna assume this thread is not for some cases where trains run skip-stopping A-B-C-D with adequate stopping services A<->B<->C<->D calling at all stops, but more for some examples below:


Newcastle - Edinburgh on the ECML feels especially messy to me - a quick check shows only 1 Northbound and 4 Southbound call at all of Morpeth, Alnmouth, Berwick and Dunbar; and the other trains appear to skip/call at these 4 stations seemingly at random...
And once you get into Scotland, no train from Dunbar to/from Edinburgh calls at any intermediate station other than Musselburgh...


Off to the GWML, trains between Pewsey and Bedwyn number at... 3 Eastbound and 2 Westbound the entire day, in both cases within an hour. Services at each station seem adequate enough in general - 2-hourly in the former and hourly in the latter, they just don't like to stop at both stations!


The Greater Anglia Cambridge - Ipswich service is an interesting one - most of the day alternate services call at Dullingham or Kennett, but not many do both calls.


This is an unusual one (and I don't even know if it should count!) but not too many (Chiltern) trains call at both South Ruislip and West Ruislip - Westbound I count 8 a day with a 9:30 gap in the middle, and Eastbound just 3 a day with a 12:30 gap in the middle - this is despite there being an hourly service from both stations most of the day. Granted, service on the parallel tracks might be exponentially better... but still.


Another one (which I only know of because it creates an interesting ticketing edge-case) is Elsenham - Stansted Airport. No train calls at both these stations (despite being "adjacent") - all trains from Stansted Airport going northbound skip-stop till Audley End, and all southbound trains from Elsenham proceed towards Stansted Mountfitchet instead.

I'm sure there's many more

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

Llandudno Junction to Holyhead

Trains either do just Bangor and Holyhead ( Avanti) or the TfW trains do Conwy, Pen and Llanfair and Bangor then fast to Holyhead or fast to Bangor then Llanfairpwll, Bodorgan , Ty croes , Valley Holyhead.

Only one train a day I believe stops at all of them and that is at some ungodly hour of the morning.

 

[Glenn1969]

RTT today shows 5 trains and an RRB stopping at all stations Bangor to Holyhead

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

RTT today shows 5 trains and an RRB stopping at all stations Bangor to Holyhead

yes Bangor but not Llandudno junction, they do either or read what I wrote again.....

 

[Glenn1969]

My RTT search was Llanfairfechan to Llanfairpwll Calls only. Showed 5 trains and one late evening RRB that called at all stations

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

My RTT search was Llanfairfechan to Llanfairpwll Calls only. Showed 5 trains and one late evening RRB that called at all stations

I'm not sure what you are getting at, my point is that in a typical day there is only one very early train that stops at all stations between Llandudno Junction and Holyhead.

That is what this thread is about.....