The longest journey...

[krus_aragon]

Here's a challenge for you all: which railway journey in the UK takes the longest to complete?

Here are the rules:

• The journey must be from one UK railway station to another UK railway station
• You must depart on a weekday morning at 09:00 (or the next applicable train going the right way) during the current timetable period
• The time you submit must be the journey giving the earliest possible arrival, as suggested by an online journey planner of your choice (such as National Rail Enquiries)
• No specifying waypoints or extended stopovers etc
• Journeys that use rail replacement buses are not valid

(In other words, you can't choose to start in the middle of the night, and you can't take 300 mile diversions though the routeing guide just to eat up time.)


An opening example:
Dover Priory to Mallaig (Tues 27th July, using NRE)
Departing 09:44, Arriving Mallaig 23:35. Journey time 13h51m

And a follow-up question for ticketing buffs: what is the cheapest ticket combination you can find for one UK adult (with no railcard) to complete that journey?

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Mallaig-Adisham can be done, but its an overnighter (taking 18h03 on the first train off Mallaig after 0900, the 1605). Does it still count?

 

[Ivo]

Leaving Camborne at 09:06 will see you arrive at Inverness at 23:14, a total of 14 hours 8 minutes (09:06 to Paddington, arriving at 13:44; 15:00 from King's Cross to Edinburgh, arriving at 19:13; 19:35 from Edinburgh due in at 23:14).

The other direction is a bit confusing. Inverness to Truro is do-able, and in a time that is 23 minutes longer (14h31), but for some reason the section beyond Plymouth isn't showing up in the planner! Leave Inverness at 09:18 for Queen Street, due in at 12:46. Cross central Glasgow, and then use the 14:00 to Birmingham (due 17:56). Leave New Street at 18:12 for Plymouth, due to arrive at 21:50. Then - this is the bit that isn't showing up for some reason! - wait for the 22:30 from Plymouth, due into Truro at 23:49.

As for cheaper fares? Northbound would be hard; southbound - XC territory for some of it - would be a nightmare! A basic northbound single (CBN - INV, via London) is £209.10 (why do they need the last 10p?); the southbound single (INV - TRU, not via London) is £196 (all of £1 cheaper than Camborne would have been without the London "diversion"). But what if I said that the former is cheaper if you split at Plymouth?

 

[Zoe]

Don't think it can be done after 09:00 unforutunatey but:

Penzance depart 06:28.
Belfast Central arrive 22:57.
Journey time 16:29.

 

[flymo]

I'll be cheeky and extend the Camborne - Inverness example above to Wick using the first available service out of Inverness which is at 0706 and arrive into Wick at 1132.

That would be 0906 from Camborne into Wick at 1132 the following day so 26 hours 26 minutes. Still a valid journey but not sure if it would fit in with the rules regarding prolonged stops. It does involve taking the next available train though.

 

[krus_aragon]

Mallaig-Adisham can be done, but its an overnighter (taking 18h03 on the first train off Mallaig after 0900, the 1605). Does it still count?

It's the first available train, so that one's fine.

Don't think it can be done after 09:00 unforutunatel but:

Penzance depart 06:28.
Belfast Central arrive 22:57.
Journey time 16:29.

I've asked NRE and it gave a first departure after 09:00 of 14:00, so that one doesn't count. The 14:00 arrives 09:45 the next day, so at 19h45m travel time it actually takes longer!

I'll be cheeky and extend the Camborne - Inverness example above to Wick using the first available service out of Inverness which is at 0706 and arrive into Wick at 1132.

That would be 0906 from Camborne into Wick at 1132 the following day so 26 hours 26 minutes. Still a valid journey but not sure if it would fit in with the rules regarding prolonged stops. It does involve taking the next available train though.

If that's the first connection that NRE or similar gives, than that's fine. The main thing I had in mind was making sure no-one asked for a two hour increment on train changing times, or something of that ilk.

 

[Ivo]

But any ideas as to why my Truro extension wasn't interested in working on NRE? It's perfectly legitimate; we all know it is.

And can anyone do better in any 0900-0000 period?

 

[flymo]

But any ideas as to why my Truro extension wasn't interested in working on NRE?

Just tried for Monday 26th and it's showing up OK to Truro on the East Coast booking engine. No idea why it wouldn't work on the NRE site.

 

[welshpax]

What about the following:-

09.15 Forsinard - Inverness Arr 12.13 (125 miles)
12.47 Inverness - Edinburgh Arr 16.23 (174 miles)
16.23 Edinburgh - Birmingham NS Arr 20.55 (295 miles)
21.15 Birmingham NS - Bristol TM Arr 23.04 (80 miles)
23.35 Bristol TM - Yatton Arr 23.53 (13 miles)

You can go onto Exeter St Davids, but this would take you into the next day.

Total approx mileage for the day is 687 (Approx only) and the time taken is 14hrs 38 minutes which equals around 43mph.

Or you could have:-

09.15 Forsinard - Inverness Arr 12.13 (125 miles)
12.47 Inverness - Edinburgh Arr 16.23 (174 miles)
17.00 Edinburgh - Kings Cross Arr 21.44 (393 miles)
22.15 St Pancras Int - Dover Priory Arr 23.21 (76 miles)
23.33 Dover Priory - Sandwich Arr 23.55 (14 miles)

Total miles 782 miles total time 14hrs 40 minutes at an average speed of 55 mph

Thats the best I can do!!

 

[fairlie]

11:50 Falmouth Docks [FAL] Truro [TRU] 12:17
12:22 Truro [TRU] Plymouth [PLY] 13:41
14:25 Plymouth [PLY] Birmingham New Street [BHM] 17:56
18:20 Birmingham New Street [BHM] Crewe [CRE] 19:07
23:54 Crewe [CRE] Inverness [INV] 08:31
10:38 Inverness [INV] Wick [WCK] 14:55

comes out at 27h05, although the 0850 from Falmouth Docks is a little quicker at 26h42 but the rules say leave at 9am or after.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Done on a ticket machine rather than a website, but I imagine it's the same anyway....

St Ives dep 0922
St Erth arr 0936 dep 0948
Birmingham New Street arr 1526 dep 1601
Crewe arr 1656 dep 2354
Inverness arr 0831 dep 1038
Wick arr 1455

29 hours 33 minutes

There is a bit of waiting at Crewe, but that is how it came out of the machine.

 

[Bedpan]

If you ask for a 9am start, National Rail Enquiries tells you to catch the 11.25 from St Erth which ultimately gives a 19.07 arrival at Crewe, and then the same timings as Hairy Handed Fool with a total journey time to Wick of 27hrs 30 mins.

However the rules of the competition state that yoou have to get the next applicable train after 09.00 which in the case of St Ives is the 09.22 so would go with HHF at 29hrs 33 mins.

However if you travel from St Ives to Golf Street and ask for a 09.00 start the journey planner tells you to catch the 16.25 from St Ives, arriving St Erth 16.39.
Then - St Erth 17.48, arr Bristol TM 21.47.
Bristol TM 06.27 - Edinburgh Waverley 13.05
Edinburgh 17.03 - Golf Street 19.13
Total journey time = 26 hrs 48 mins.
But oif you caught the 09.22 from St Ives you wouldn't get to Golf Street any earlier so total journey time would become 33 hrs 51 mins

 

[imagination]

Depart Wick 12:36 on 20th September 2010

Arrive inverness 16:02 depart 18:30

Arrive Edinburgh 22:05 depart 06:08 next morning

Arrive Exeter St Davids 13:46

Depart Exeter St Davids 22nd May 2011 9:14 (assuming the times remain the same next year)

Arrive Okehampton 9:52

Giving a total of 5853 hours 16 minutes.

Unfortunately I can't find any online journey planner that will give me this journey. I don't even know if the train times for Okehampton next year have even been decided yet...

P.S. sorry I just had to post that...

 

[hairyhandedfool]

That got me thinking and I have another, although once more I have no idea if the journey planners will like it, my ticket machine certainly didn't....

Denton dep 0931 (06/08/10)
Guide Bridge arr 0942 dep 0958
Man. Piccadilly arr 1012 dep 1027
Stockport arr 1034 (06/08/10) dep 0922 (12/08/10)
Reddish South arr 0926 (12/08/10)

That's just 5 days 23 hrs 55 minutes!

In the opposite direction it's a whole 5 minutes!

 

[Bedpan]

Depart Wick 12:36 on 20th September 2010

Arrive inverness 16:02 depart 18:30

Arrive Edinburgh 22:05 depart 06:08 next morning

Arrive Exeter St Davids 13:46

Depart Exeter St Davids 22nd May 2011 9:14 (assuming the times remain the same next year)

Arrive Okehampton 9:52

Giving a total of 5853 hours 16 minutes.

Unfortunately I can't find any online journey planner that will give me this journey. I don't even know if the train times for Okehampton next year have even been decided yet...

P.S. sorry I just had to post that...

Why travel all the way froim Wick when you could start at Exeter Central or St Thomas?

 

[imagination]

You can start anywhere you want. I had originally meant to have the train leaving on a Sunday which is why I started so far away but then I read the rules again.

 

[NightatLaira]

Then - this is the bit that isn't showing up for some reason! - wait for the 22:30 from Plymouth, due into Truro at 23:49.
Plymouth?

This seems to be a major glitch in the route planning system at the moment.

A few weeks ago on a late night trip down to the southwest I was on the 1806 from Paddington and wanting to travel to St Erth. The service I was on was fast from Redruth to Penzance, the conductor (who was Plymouth based I think) gave me a strange look when he came to check my ticket somewhere near Castle Cary saying "I'm not sure if you're gonna get there tonight son!"

He did not seem to be aware of the connecting train from Redruth to St Erth later that night...

When he checked on his computerised machine - he confidently said "Nope - there's no such train."

Then I showed him my papery timetable - and he was most perplexed. Ended up calling a colleage - and sure enough his colleage then confirmed that it did exist but wasn't showing in the system for some reason!


happy days

 

[starrymarkb]

Not St Thomas - St Davids or St James Park (sometimes)