Trivia: shortest time between passing two stations

[SteelWeelApeal]

What is the shortest time between passing two stations on a passenger service? This will obviously be a result of the relationship of the distance between the stations and the speed of the train. A good example I can think of is Newbury Racecourse and Newbury, two close stations passed at 110, so it takes only a few seconds between passing them. Are there any better ones? I imagine fast lines through the edges of places like London and Glasgow would be good places to look.

 

[uvarvu]

Gotta be blackfriars and city thameslink right?

 

[janahan]

Gotta be blackfriars and city thameslink right?

maybe in distance from each other, but when you read the original post, they ask for the fastest time to pass between two stations, and since the train has to stop at both City and Blackfriars, this would increase the time, and there may be some shorter instances, where the train doesnt stop, but pass. I would suspect many places on an High Speed Intercity Line (WCML, ECML) where there are many stations serving local/Underground stations.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Gotta be blackfriars and city thameslink right?

Surely most trains call at those two stations, as Janahan indicates, which means having to accelerate (albeit slowly) and then slow down again.

I'll nominate Hillington East and Cardonald on the run in from Paisley Gilmour Street into Glasgow Central. Half-a-mile apart and non-stop trains always seem to rattle through there.

 

[4COR]

Covent Garden and Leicester Sq on the Piccadilly if the tube is included? Do you mean "passing" in that it can't call at either (which would rule this out, though the journey is literally seconds...)

 

[flitwickbeds]

Luton Airport Parkway to Luton on an East Midlands train which doesn't stop at either

(Assuming I've understood the rules correctly that the train doesn't stop at either station)

 

[SteelWeelApeal]

It doesn’t have to be a pass, could be a stop, but I’d be very very surprised if this led to the shortest time between two stations as the train would be going slowly.

An example is that on a fast train you pass Midgham about 70 seconds after Aldermaston. The question is between what two stations is this number the lowest.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I'll nominate Hillington East and Cardonald on the run in from Paisley Gilmour Street into Glasgow Central. Half-a-mile apart and non-stop trains always seem to rattle through there.

You'd need to know the maximum line speeds at all the various locations being quoted, but at 60 mph, a mon-stop passenger train would take roughly 30 secs to travel the half mile between Hillington East and Cardonald, for example.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Garforth and East Garforth are both passed fairly quickly on Fast services.

 

[J-P_L]

Huyton and Roby on express liverpool services

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Garforth and East Garforth are both passed fairly quickly on Fast services.

These two Yorkshire stations are slightly further apart than Hillington East / Cardonald in Scotland, at approximately just under three-quarters of a mile distance, so the minimum time taken to pass through the two would depend on the maximum line speed permitted on that section of track out of Leeds.

 

[Mikey C]

The stations bypassed by the Metropolitan Line come thick and fast. A lower top speed, but being on the Underground, the stations are close together. Neasden and Dollis Hill look very close together, and the S8s will be at a decent speed by then

 

[mmh]

Penge West and Anerley is probably about 10 seconds on a non-stopping fast line train.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Huyton and Roby on express liverpool services

They are quite close together at around two-fifths of a mile. Anyone got the relevant maximum line speed info so that the necessary "back of a fag packet" calculations can be done?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Penge West and Anerley is probably about 10 seconds on a non-stopping fast line train.

Good shout that at around a third of a mile between the two. However, 10 seconds would suggest a line speed of 120 mph. (!)

 

[mmh]

Good shout that at around a third of a mile between the two. However, 10 seconds would suggest a line speed of 120 mph. (!)

It's definitely not that! I'm probably misremembering how quick it is. Line speed is 75mph if I remember right.

 

[Peter0124]

Newton to Cambuslang and Uddingston take around minute on a fast avanti service

 

[John Hunt]

Apsley to Hemel Hempstead on WCML by pendolino must be a candidate.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Newton to Cambuslang and Uddingston take around minute on a fast avanti service

Ball park a mile-and-three-quarters respectively between these sets of stations so would be pushed to do it in much less than a minute.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Apsley to Hemel Hempstead on WCML by pendolino must be a candidate.

Just over a mile and a third, so can't see this being done in less than 30 seconds, even at 100 mph (!)

 

[TheDavibob]

Cheekily, does the passing service have to pass platforms?

E.g. Harrow and Wealdstone to Wembley on the WCML can be done (non-stop at either end) in 2 minutes (and probably a lot less - just a casual check of RTT suggests a run doing it in 1.5 minutes, though rounding either end could add any seconds to that). Given there are three intermediate Watford DC stations on this stretch the gap between at least one consecutive pair must be beneath 30s.

More explicitly, naive measuring of South Kenton to Wembley North suggests ~900m, which is 20s at 100mph. Of course, the WCML is probably slowing down by this point.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

maybe in distance from each other, but when you read the original post, they ask for the fastest time to pass between two stations, and since the train has to stop at both City and Blackfriars, this would increase the time, and there may be some shorter instances, where the train doesnt stop, but pass. I would suspect many places on an High Speed Intercity Line (WCML, ECML) where there are many stations serving local/Underground stations.

I wonder - what's the time difference between the rear end of a 12 car 700 leaving Blackfriars and the front end reaching City?

Could be easily tested with two people, one at each end, with stopwatches...

 

[4COR]

It doesn’t have to be a pass, could be a stop, but I’d be very very surprised if this led to the shortest time between two stations as the train would be going slowly.

Cab ride video (

- at 30:15) looks to be 25 seconds between starting at Covent Garden and entering the platform at Leicester Sq.

45 sec start to stop.

 

[route101]

How about the stations such as Golf Street , Broughty ferry, Balmossie and Barry links?

 

[mmh]

None of the pairs of stations I've thought of and checked the timetable of have times under half a minute. Can anyone find one listed as quarter of a minute (or recorded as done in quarter of a minute)?

 

[mmh]

More explicitly, naive measuring of South Kenton to Wembley North suggests ~900m, which is 20s at 100mph. Of course, the WCML is probably slowing down by this point.

But in the opposite direction it will be speeding up.

 

[J-P_L]

They are quite close together at around two-fifths of a mile. Anyone got the relevant maximum line speed info so that the necessary "back of a fag packet" calculations can be done?

Up and Down Chat Moss Fast are 90mph
Huyton-Roby is 41 chains (0.512 miles)
Suggests 20.48 seconds

 

[Mcr Warrior]

How about the stations such as Golf Street , Broughty ferry, Balmossie and Barry links?

Balmossie to Monifieth is about three quarters of a mile, Golf Street and Carmoustie perhaps a little less, but still over three fifths of a mile. The other stations on this section of line are slightly further apart.

Up and Down Chat Moss Fast are 90mph
Huyton-Roby is 41 chains (0.512 miles)
Suggests 20.48 seconds

Is this the leading contender?

 

[BayPaul]

Are there any stations where the gap between them is shorter than the longest freight train passing between them? In which case, the time could be argued to be zero

 

[Mcr Warrior]

More explicitly, naive measuring of South Kenton to Wembley North suggests ~900m, which is 20s at 100mph. Of course, the WCML is probably slowing down by this point.

Is Wembley Central -> North Wembley slightly less distance than North Wembley-> South Kenton. Might make a slight difference!