Trivia - Stations With Single Through Trains

[Deepgreen]

To explain - my local station is Betchworth, on the North Downs line. The current timetable has the daily (weekday) service being the Reading to Redhill 'slow' trains, every two hours off-peak and approximately hourly in the peaks. However, one train a day, the 0823 towards Redhill, runs through to Gatwick Airport. There is no balancing working in the other direction. I am curious about any other similar situations around the UK.

 

[Kite159]

So something like the 23:35 Waterloo - Salisbury service on a Sunday is the only through service for Fleet & Farnborough for stations towards Salisbury?

Or the Saturdays Kyle of Lochash to Elgin?

 

[Mag_seven]

Polesworth, Pilning.

 

[43096]

Carrbridge, Newtonmore, Blair Atholl, Dunkeld & Birnam and Dunblane have a Sundays only service to King's Cross (1E17 0940 from Inverness) but do not have calls on the northbound Highland Chieftain on any days.

 

[Ianno87]

Cambridge has a service from Gloucester (Bristol TM from May), but none back.

Also has a train to Stratford, but none back.

 

[Esker-pades]

There will be loads. Teeside Airport for a start.

Chester-le-Street has 3 Northern services a day from Middlesbrough or Saltburn, all of which go through to Carlisle via the Tyne Valley. The return service only runs from Newcastle to Darlington.

Stations north of Inverurie have a direct service to Edinburgh, but no return. They do have a service from Glasgow, but none to Glasgow.

Penkridge has services to Stone, Stoke and Alsager but none from there.

Walsall has 3 direct services to Liverpool Lime Street, but none from Liverpool.

Shrewsbury has a direct service to Rugeley Trent Valley, but none from there.

 

[Deepgreen]

Thanks all - exactly the sort of examples I was after.

 

[DanTrain]

Dore & Totley and Chinley have soliditary through trains to Norwich which don’t have a return working.

Same goes for Derby to Dronfield and Belper to St Pancras. There are plenty around the place I think, often due to peak hour stops on services to different destinations.

 

[Iskra]

On a Sunday morning there is a Nottingham-Carlisle direct Northern service that provides a once a week through working from stations South of Leeds to Carlisle.

 

[_toommm_]

On a Sunday morning there is a Nottingham-Carlisle direct Northern service that provides a once a week through working from stations South of Leeds to Carlisle.

I believe that has gone up to two a day now, and it has return workings too so it doesnt work on this thread ....

EDIT: 09:19 and 14:19 from Nottingham, returning from Carlisle at 15:02

 

[Kite159]

Cambridge has a service from Gloucester (Bristol TM from May), but none back.

Also has a train to Stratford, but none back.

05:20 Liverpool Street - Cambridge North goes via Stratford on Saturdays (ie http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/L26801/2019/02/16/advanced)

 

[swt_passenger]

Southampton to Edinburgh XC
Nottingham to Bournemouth XC

 

[sussexbythesea]

GWR Brighton services: Stations between Brighton and Havant get 2 trains a day to Bristol/Great Malvern, but only one runs in the other direction

 

[computerSaysNo]

Is there still a once per day XC Bath Spa to Glasgow Central?

 

[krus_aragon]

The Cardiff Bay shuttlehas one through working from Coryton, and one through working to Cardiff Central each day. Naturally, these are positional moves for the unit that trundles back and forth on the branch all day.

 

[Springs Branch]

Northern services from Southport mostly go via Rochdale & Todmorden to either Leeds or Blackburn. Other trains go via Oxford Rd to Alderley Edge. One train per day runs to Stalybridge, with no reverse working.

One per day Buxton to Manchester Victoria via the Ordsall Curve. No reverse working.

On Merseyrail's Wirral Line, almost every train around the Liverpool Loop religiously goes back onto the line from which it came at Hamilton Square (even if one or two do stop or start short at Hooton or Birkenhead Central). Except one per day Chester to Birkenhead North which swaps main branches at Birkenhead.
[EDIT] Pedants may note the last Ellesmere Port to Liverpool service goes around the Loop then out of service at Hamilton Square platform 3 (the WK / NB platform), rather than p.2 (for EP / CH).

For many years there used to be one train per day from Wigan North Western to Liverpool Lime St going all stations via Newton-le-Willows instead of St Helens Central, with no reverse working. This is no-longer a candidate since there are now 2 tpd WGN to LIV via Newton-le-Willows and a single train in the LIV to WGN direction.

 

[ValleyLines142]

The Cardiff Bay shuttlehas one through working from Coryton, and one through working to Cardiff Central each day. Naturally, these are positional moves for the unit that trundles back and forth on the branch all day.

I didn't know about the Coryton to Cardiff Bay service.

I did know about the 0550 Barry Island to Coryton service however.

 

[Esker-pades]

More in Wales:
The 2 trains from Shrewsbury and Holyhead to Maestag with no return.

The morning Hereford to Barry Island service with no return.

The Manchester to Tenby service with no return.

 

[krus_aragon]

I didn't know about the Coryton to Cardiff Bay service.

it's a new one to me, too. I found it when checking my facts about the Central-Bay working.

 

[Killingworth]

Dore & Totley and Chinley have soliditary through trains to Norwich which don’t have a return working.

Same goes for Derby to Dronfield and Belper to St Pancras. There are plenty around the place I think, often due to peak hour stops on services to different destinations.

Dore & Totley has another. The East Midlands 17.31 splits at Nottingham. Front half from Sheffield (rear half from Liverpool to Dore!) goes on to Norwich and rear half is bookable through to Worksop. There is no through service from Worksop.

This one-off is shared with all station calls from Liverpool to Nottingham.

 

[bunnahabhain]

There are a few in the East Midlands.

1L03 0707 Mansfield Woodhouse to Norwich.
2L57 0652 Worksop to Lincoln Central via Nottingham
2A30 1045 Grantham to Matlock (Sundays only)

There are also a few other oddities which have no balancing working as such due to them running a different route on the return journey.
2E01 0507 Nottingham to Spalding via Grantham
2R92 2105 Spalding to Nottingham via Melton Mowbray
1L01 0457 /1L02 0610 Nottingham to Norwich via Melton Mowbray

 

[GW43125]

Richmond, Twickenham, Feltham, Ashford, Staines and Egham have one through train to Guildford in the mornings (2N13 Waterloo-Guildford), there is no return working as all others to or from Aldershot either start/finish at Aldershot or Farnham.

Vauxhall, Earlsfield, Wimbledon, Surbiton then all stations to Byfleet see two services on the Portsmouth direct every morning (2p05 and 2P07, the 0500 and 0520 departures from Waterloo respectively), the only return direct journeys from Portsmouth are via Eastleigh (however there is one down service via Eastleigh in the morning-2T13 06:42 off Waterloo-which invalidates via Eastleigh)

It is currently also possible to take a direct train from Reading to Hounslow in the peaks, but not from Hounslow to Reading!

 

[PeterC]

Metropolitan Line 05:16 Chesham to Watford. There is an evening return working but only as far as Rickmansworth.

 

[Esker-pades]

Strood and Higham get a single direct service to Victoria (05:26 Gillingham to London Victoria via Dartford, Bexleyheath and Lewisham).

 

[43055]

Is there still a once per day XC Bath Spa to Glasgow Central?

Yes still exists.

Penzance to Manchester would be one for the stations in Cornwall.

 

[Dr Strider]

How about:
SX 2142 Birmingham International to Manchester Piccadilly (TfW, via Shrewsbury, Chester and Warrington BQ)
SO 1911 Hereford to Dorridge

Dr Strider

 

[mm333]

6 TPX services a day call at Cross Gates. 5 of them are Middlesbrough-Manchester Airport (or reverse) services, but one is a Scarborough-Liverpool Lime Street. So there's 1 direct train a day from Scarborough/Seamer/Malton to Cross Gates and 1 direct train a day from Cross Gates-Lea Green/Liverpool but no return working

 

[philthetube]

Not quite what the op means but I seem to recall Windermere having a through train once, due to slippery rails, I can't find any mention online though.

If I remember correctly this was one of the first incidents where a black box saved a driver as it provided proof that the train was driven correctly.

 

[davetheguard]

Barnstaple to Paignton on a Saturday evening. One journey a week, no balancing working in the other direction. Of course, it's easy to make the journey at any other time with a simple connection at Exeter St. David's every hour.

 

[scrapy]

There's 1 train Leeds to Barrow but no return working.