Trivia - SCOTLAND - lowest number of most stops between two stations

[crispy1978]

Same as the Wales thread.

Two Scotland stations - what is the highest number of changes required whilst still minimising changes?

Example: Thurso - Falkirk High

Thurso - Inverness
Inverness - Haymarket
Haymarket - Falkirk High

Again, any train/tram travel can work, let your imagination run wild!

 

[gsnedders]

How are we dealing with Glasgow Central/Queen Street? Are we assuming you can walk between them, or must you go by rail?

 

[crispy1978]

How are we dealing with Glasgow Central/Queen Street? Are we assuming you can walk between them, or must you go by rail?

I'll say by rail as they are separate stations.

 

[185143]

Wick to Gretna Green.

Wick to Inverness
Inverness to Glasgow Queen St
Glasgow Queen St to Partick
Partick to Glasgow Central
Glasgow Central to Gretna Green

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

[kieron]

Two Scotland stations - what is the highest number of changes required whilst still minimising changes?

Just with railway stations, my guess would be 3.

Every station in Scotland has direct trains from and to Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow Central, Glasgow Queen Street or Inverness. Edinburgh has direct trains to and from the other four. As such, every station in Scotland is no more than one change from Edinburgh in either direction.

There are no direct trains from Glasgow Central to or from Dundee, Glasgow Queen Street or Inverness, so there are journey it isn't possible to complete with fewer than 3 changes.

Wick-Inverness-Edinburgh-Glasgow Central-Gretna Green would be a perfectly good example of a journey with 3 changes where this cannot be reduced.

 

[route:oxford]

Just with railway stations, my guess would be 3.

Every station in Scotland has direct trains from and to Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow Central, Glasgow Queen Street or Inverness. Edinburgh has direct trains to and from the other four. As such, every station in Scotland is no more than one change from Edinburgh in either direction.

There are no direct trains from Glasgow Central to or from Dundee, Glasgow Queen Street or Inverness, so there are journey it isn't possible to complete with fewer than 3 changes.

Wick-Inverness-Edinburgh-Glasgow Central-Gretna Green would be a perfectly good example of a journey with 3 changes where this cannot be reduced.

Although...

National Rail indicates that with a journey from Edinburgh to Gretna you should change at Carlisle, which means on days where the Chieftain is diverted the journey could be:-

Wick-Inverness-Carlisle-Gretna

(The OP didn't mention anything about no overnight stays or forays across a border being forbidden.)

Although, in which case, I suppose you could just change from the Chieftain to the Northern-Scotrail joint-stock service at Newcastle for Gretna Green.

 

[kieron]

Maybe Paisley Canal would be a better destination for this, then? The hard part of this sort of thing is finding stations that don't have strange routes between them during engineering work.

I'm sure you don't need to go above 3, though.

Thinking of it, I think this is the same number you'd get for the former Merseyside Metropolitan County (Rainford-Kirkby-Moorfields-Bidston-Heswall being an example, or Rainford-Manchester Victoria-Newton-le-Willows-Shotton-Heswall if you prefer), with everything being a change or two from Liverpool Central or Moorfields.