Trivia: Difference between fastest/slowest trains from same start/end stations

[norbitonflyer]

Liverpool Lime Street to Chester 44 minutes on Merseyrail via the Wirral, 53 on TfW via the Halton Curve (20% longer). (Technically the former is not an end to end service as it runs from Chester, round the Liverpool loop, back to Chester)

Waterloo to Shepperton is 45 minutes via Richmond and 58 via Kingston - 29% longer

On Sundays there are trains from Kingston to Waterloo via Hounslow (reversing at Twickenham). These take 68 minutes compared with the usual 47 minutes via Richmond (45% longer). The route via Wimbledon takes about 30 minutes but I'm not aware of any services that start at Kingston.

Here are some of the others listed above, listed by percentage rather than minutes. (Only end-to-end services)
Weymouth to Waterloo - 40% slower on the stopping services.
Paddington to Penzance - 51% slower by sleeper
Liverpool to Euston - nearly 100% slower by LNW
Euston to Watford Junction - 127% slower on Overground than on a LNWR terminator
Lincoln to Doncaster - 166% slower via Sheffield (service until September 2019)
Crewe to Liverpool - 200% slower via Manchester Airport
Wolverhampton to Walsall - about 300% slower via Birmingham NS compared to the "Parliamentary"

I'm trying to think of any pairs of circular services with the same origin but very different run times, but have so far drawn a blank. Although there are two circular services serving St Pancras, only the HS1 service starts there - the Wimbledon loop services start further north. (There are no St Pancras - to - St Pancras services via Wimbledon). Likewise the Cathcart and Hamilton Circle services in Glasgow - the latter use the Argyle Line. There are two circular services from Waterloo: the Kingston Loop and the Hounslow Loop, but they have similar running times - likewise the circular services through Woolwich and Sidcup/Bexleyheath on South Eastern.

 

[London Trains]

the Wimbledon loop services start further north. (There are no St Pancras - to - St Pancras services via Wimbledon).

The Wimbledon loop can be included as both ways it starts at St Albans. The route via Mitcham is around 15 minutes faster than the route via Wimbledon

 

[kieron]

Heart of Wales must take a lot longer than via Newport, although I‘m not sure if there’s a train by each route that starts and ends in the same place.

When I checked, the Marches line was only 35 minutes faster than the Heart of Wales one. The 18:40 from Swansea to Shrewsbury on a Sunday takes 3h 16min via Hereford, stopping everywhere after Cardiff. The 18:17 on a Saturday takes 3h 51min via Llandrindod.

Are Preston/Carlisle ever the origin and destination stations via WCML though?

Not usually, but the schedule for 2/5 happens to have rail replacement buses north of Carlisle and south of Preston. The 16:03 is timed for 1h 11min, and the 15:15 for 3h 52min.

You get all sorts of odd results with diversions, though.

 

[D365]

Huntingdon or St Neots to Kings Cross, I think the peak fast trains are about 10 mins faster than the all-day semi-fasts.

 

[sd0733]

[/QUOTE]

When I checked, the Marches line was only 35 minutes faster than the Heart of Wales one. The 18:40 from Swansea to Shrewsbury on a Sunday takes 3h 16min via Hereford, stopping everywhere after Cardiff. The 18:17 on a Saturday takes 3h 51min via Llandrindod.

That 18.40 Swansea to Shrewsbury Is not typical of the timings on that route to be honest. I worked it last week and have waiting time at almost every stop, around 15-20.mins at Newport and Hereford.
The real time difference on the Heart of Wales is on the one in the evening which continues on from Swansea to Cardiff, 1720 from Crewe in the normal timetable.

 

[norbitonflyer]

The Wimbledon loop can be included as both ways it starts at St Albans. The route via Mitcham is around 15 minutes faster than the route via Wimbledon

Indeed, but I was comparing round trip times on circular services having the same start point - St Pancras-to-St Pancras via Dover vs St Pancras-to-St Pancras via Wimbledon. Comparing times both ways round the same circular service will always produce different results for all destinations on the loop except for one point - somewhere near St Helier in the case of the Wimbledon loop.

 

[London Trains]

One of the Weybridge to Waterloo via Staines service starts at Woking at 5:27, and takes 1h29m to get to Waterloo. The normal stoppers on the SWML that start at Woking take around 49m. Furthermore there is a train at 5:43 which only takes 37m.

 

[norbitonflyer]

Edinburgh to Glasgow:
via Carstairs to Glasgow Central (60-92 minutes, but these are usually either through from the East Coast Main Line or to Ayr. However, the 0625 Cross Country service starts at Edinburgh and takes 56 minutes)
via Shotts to Glasgow Central (71-91 minutes)
via Bathgate and Airdrie to Queen Street (67-73 minutes, continue through to North Clydeside)
via Falkirk Grahamston and Cumbernauld to Queen Street (78 minutes)
via Falkirk High and Croy (45-48 minutes)

Thus biggest difference between end to end services to Central is 56 / 91 (63% longer)
Biggest difference between end to end services to Queen Street 45 / 78 (73% longer)
Biggest difference (either Glasgow station) 45 / 91 (102% longer)

 

[kieron]

That 18.40 Swansea to Shrewsbury Is not typical of the timings on that route to be honest. I worked it last week and have waiting time at almost every stop, around 15-20.mins at Newport and Hereford.
The real time difference on the Heart of Wales is on the one in the evening which continues on from Swansea to Cardiff, 1720 from Crewe in the normal timetable.

The fastest Swansea-Shrewsbury time I've found is still 2h 59min. The 18:40 is a bit slower (perhaps because it's timed for a 150?), but not massively. I imagine you beat a lot of timings now.

There's a bigger difference for Shrewsbury-Cardiff (2h 23min against 4h 6min, for instance), as you say, but there's probably a reason why they don't sell "via Llandovery" tickets for that route.

 

[delt1c]

Euston to Glasgow Central, sleeper versus Pendo

 

[Aaronlewis1234]

Euston to Watford, 15 minutes on West Midlands Trains versus 50 minute on LONDON overground, my friend told me about the latter after getting on it by mistake.