What's the furthest away your train has been diverted ad hoc?

[Rover]

If I recall right, it wasn't free - after Pathfinder (F&W) ceased trading, Pathfinder (2006) made a charge of £25 for going on the 're-run'.

Oh right, time clouds the memory somewhat.

 

[vlad]

The worst I've had is a Crewe-Stoke-Stafford-London service on London Midland which was diverted to run directly between Crewe and Stafford thus avoiding Stoke. It's a shame it's Stoke I was heading for.

That one came as a surprise to the guard as well.

 

[walkingsophie]

Not as exciting as the other people here but I've had a Tonbridge - London diverted via Beckenham and Lewisham

 

[CW2]

In the "Back in the day" thread I have told the tale of going from York to Edinburgh involving 55006, 81006, and 40166. This was just after the Penmanshiel tunnel collapse. Carstairs to Edinburgh was blocked by snow, so the 40 hauled us via Motherwell and Shotts. All rather unexpected.

 

[Bevan Price]

Back during WCML electrification . Planned diversion with unintended problems,
Liverpool Lime St. - Stafford - Bushbury Jn - Walsall (Class 40 failed).
Only loco available nearby was a Britannia, barely in steam, presumably from Bescot, having been "put to bed" for the night. . .
Then Walsall - Sutton Park - Water Orton - Nuneaton - WCML to Euston. (around 5 hours late)

 

[in_luzern]

I had a very long diversion in terms of delay (maybe not distance) last summer in Germany.

ICE from Basel to Köln: after leaving Frankfurt Flughafen we were stopped at Montabaur because of a police intervention in Köln. After about an hour, we were told that we would be going back to Frankfurt Flughafen, then diverting to Köln via the Rhine valley, "but it will be stop-start as there are too many trains on the line" according to the train manager.

Back to Frankfurt we went, stopped there for about 45 minutes, then along the eastern bank of the Rhine at a snail's pace (much more scenic than the high speed line I have to say), until we were stopped again at a tiny station just before Koblenz for more than 2 hours because the train in front of us had broken down and the fire brigade had been called. By the time we finally made it, the journey from Frankfurt Flughafen to Köln had taken 7 hours 15 minutes instead of just under an hour. I suspect that we would have got there much earlier if we had just sat it out at Montabaur instead of diverting!

 

[steamybrian]

Not as exciting as the other people here but I've had a Tonbridge - London diverted via Beckenham and Lewisham

Many years ago before Redhill to Tonbridge line was electrified there was an emergency closure of the line between Tonbridge and Sevenoaks. I joined a Ashford to Charing Cross train at Tonbridge. It reversed and went via Paddock Wood, Maidstone West, Strood, Dartford to Charing Cross.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Over running engineering works -1980s- meant instead of Preston Warrington Crewe Euston - 47 attached at Warrington then to Chester where the 47 failed so another 47, then to Crewe. 47 detached and got into Euston 3 hours late.

 

[EYFanatic]

I’m also aware of a fairly epic tale of a Deltic diversion via Carlisle, the GSW & Shotts. Hope someone digs it out.

Something rings a bell in my head that it was 1972 and involved heavy flooding

 

[plugwash]

Not as long as other peoples but the most out of my way I can remember going unexpectedly was on a southeastern train that was supposed to join HS1 at ebbsfleet but was unable to do so for some reason. I'm not 100% sure, but I think we must have diverted just beore strood, missing strood, highham and gravesend and instea passing though longfield before reversing and joining HS1 using the junction near "cyclopark charity", then reversing again in a loop next to HS1 before proceeding into one of the low-level platforms at ebssfleet and continuing towards st pancras. IIRC passengers for the missed station were tols to change at ebsfleet international and explain the situation to barrier staff (the high and low level platforms at ebbsfleet have seperate ticket barriers).

 

[Cricketer8for9]

Calais to Paris via Tergnier due to an Accident Technique. 75 mins late.

 

[D6975]

1S19 at Crewe we were diverted via Stockport-Stalybridge-Leeds-York-Newcastle.

 

[The exile]

I had a very long diversion in terms of delay (maybe not distance) last summer in Germany.

ICE from Basel to Köln: after leaving Frankfurt Flughafen we were stopped at Montabaur because of a police intervention in Köln. After about an hour, we were told that we would be going back to Frankfurt Flughafen, then diverting to Köln via the Rhine valley, "but it will be stop-start as there are too many trains on the line" according to the train manager.

Back to Frankfurt we went, stopped there for about 45 minutes, then along the eastern bank of the Rhine at a snail's pace (much more scenic than the high speed line I have to say), until we were stopped again at a tiny station just before Koblenz for more than 2 hours because the train in front of us had broken down and the fire brigade had been called. By the time we finally made it, the journey from Frankfurt Flughafen to Köln had taken 7 hours 15 minutes instead of just under an hour. I suspect that we would have got there much earlier if we had just sat it out at Montabaur instead of diverting!

I was about to post my own German experience (from about 20 years ago) but yours beats it by several hours. Hamburg - just north of Uelzen but wires down so back to Hamburg - Rosenberg - Nurnberg - Hannover.

 

[Trainguy34]

Not as long as other peoples but the most out of my way I can remember going unexpectedly was on a southeastern train that was supposed to join HS1 at ebbsfleet but was unable to do so for some reason. I'm not 100% sure, but I think we must have diverted just beore strood, missing strood, highham and gravesend and instea passing though longfield before reversing and joining HS1 using the junction near "cyclopark charity", then reversing again in a loop next to HS1 before proceeding into one of the low-level platforms at ebssfleet and continuing towards st pancras. IIRC passengers for the missed station were tols to change at ebsfleet international and explain the situation to barrier staff (the high and low level platforms at ebbsfleet have seperate ticket barriers).

Presumably Rochester Bridge Jn - Fawkham Jn (Just past Longfield) [REV] - Southfleet Jn [REV] - Ebbsfleet Int'l Low Level. That would've used the old link line used for Eurostar into Waterloo, now out of use(?) and even back then, extremely rare.

 

[A S Leib]

I had a very long diversion in terms of delay (maybe not distance) last summer in Germany.

ICE from Basel to Köln: after leaving Frankfurt Flughafen we were stopped at Montabaur because of a police intervention in Köln. After about an hour, we were told that we would be going back to Frankfurt Flughafen, then diverting to Köln via the Rhine valley, "but it will be stop-start as there are too many trains on the line" according to the train manager.

Back to Frankfurt we went, stopped there for about 45 minutes, then along the eastern bank of the Rhine at a snail's pace (much more scenic than the high speed line I have to say), until we were stopped again at a tiny station just before Koblenz for more than 2 hours because the train in front of us had broken down and the fire brigade had been called. By the time we finally made it, the journey from Frankfurt Flughafen to Köln had taken 7 hours 15 minutes instead of just under an hour. I suspect that we would have got there much earlier if we had just sat it out at Montabaur instead of diverting!

Re-reading this has made me feel as if my most recent one could have gone much worse (a medical incident and line closures between Augsburg and Ulm resulting in a diversion via Ansbach, and delays of an hour and a half for the three-hour Munich to Mannheim journey).

 

[greyman42]

Re the ECML it is not that uncommon for trains to be diverted from Doncaster to Peterborough via Lincoln during disruption.

 

[SuspectUsual]

I went on a footex from Coventry to Sheffield for the FA cup semi-final in 1987, and because of engineering works it was routed via Stockport

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Not happened to me personally, but presumably Caledonian Sleeper trains still occasionally get diverted via the ECML, rather than the more usual WCML, from time to time?

 

[Whisky Papa]

My 1970s Sheffield-Manchester diversion via Woodhead instead of Hope Valley doesn't count because pre-planned, but did anyone manage this ad-hoc?

Sorry for the late - and somewhat vague - reply, I've only just spotted this.

In the February half-term of 1979, a fellow teenage bus enthusiast and I undertook a midweek day trip from Manchester to Leicester. The outward trip from Piccadilly was by a direct, loco-hauled train, which much to our amazement and delight went via Woodhead, the only time I ever passed through the tunnel.

I can only assume this was genuinely ad hoc, particularly as there had been some overnight snow. I doubt it was regularly booked this way, as I'm sure it would have been widely known if so, and we returned via the Hope Valley as normal that evening.

 

[Tester]

Sorry for the late - and somewhat vague - reply, I've only just spotted this.

In the February half-term of 1979, a fellow teenage bus enthusiast and I undertook a midweek day trip from Manchester to Leicester. The outward trip from Piccadilly was by a direct, loco-hauled train, which much to our amazement and delight went via Woodhead, the only time I ever passed through the tunnel.

I can only assume this was genuinely ad hoc, particularly as there had been some overnight snow. I doubt it was regularly booked this way, as I'm sure it would have been widely known if so, and we returned via the Hope Valley as normal that evening.

Goodness - what a treat!

 

[Failed Unit]

Re the ECML it is not that uncommon for trains to be diverted from Doncaster to Peterborough via Lincoln during disruption.

I have had via Carlisle on a weekday once, I was fortunate that I was on a HST. Can’t remember why Berwick was closed. It was evil weather out side so that could be reason.

Not happened to me personally, but presumably Caledonian Sleeper trains still occasionally get diverted via the ECML, rather than the more usual WCML, from time to time?

Correct I have had that at short notice a few times.

 

[CW2]

A few weeks ago the northbound Highland Caledonian Sleeper got diverted from Birmingham International via Cannock to Rugeley to rejoin the WCML there. That might have been just after the freight derailment at Bushbury. Probably the first time a 92 has worked across Cannock on a normal passenger train. Maybe the first electric loco of any description on a service train?

(I wasn't on it - I just wish I had been).

 

[Acathater]

Bristol-Birmingham via Oxford non stop - 31444 + 3x mk1 coaches as a "relief" for a seriously delayed SW-NE service. Quite a thrill having a 31 bouncing along the GWR mainline at an estimated 100mph (not my estimate). No idea why it didn't go direct - route knowledge maybe?

 

[Martin66]

In the late 1980s I used to travel to meetings in London from Newcastle on a regular basis. One morning we were advised that due to a broken down train at Durham our train (an HST 125) would be diverted via the Leamside line, between Gateshead & Ferryhill. I remember crossing the Victoria Viaduct which by then had a single line crossing it. That was the first & last time I travelled on that line.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

I had my first diversion on the Saturday before last (23/05/2026).
Although only a diversion with a maximum distance of ~70 metres, it skipped a station and allowed me to tick off a rare bit of track.

Spoiler: Enter your guesses now:

Delayed Hadfield service did not serve Glossop, instead going via Dinting P1

Realtime Trains | 2G17 1403 Manchester Piccadilly to Hadfield | 23/05/2026

Real-time train running information for 2G17 1403 departure from Manchester Piccadilly to Hadfield on 23/05/2026. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

Previously I've had my train be diverted, but I've always gotten off (or never gotten on) it before it goes via Bolton instead of Atherton.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Had a Wrexham and Shropshire diverted via the WCML but it was planned.

Otherwise nothing big, eg Liverpool-Manchester going Chat Moss vice CLC.

 

[liamf656]

Norwich to Liverpool service diverted from Peterborough via Oakham and (calling additionally at) East Midlands Parkway, then rejoining the route at Trowell Junction, due to Nottingham station having a fire in early 2018. Can't say many, if any LIV-NORs have completely missed out Nottingham since then

 

[185143]

I've been via Winchester on a Woking-Portsmouth stopper. Should have been all stops via the Portsmouth Direct, instead went RA Fratton.

Had a TPE 68 a few years back that ended up reversing at Marsden and running onwards to Manchester via Hebden Bridge.

I believe there was a railtour about 10 years ago that got to Alnmouth? and the ECML fell apart. They picked passengers up, set back to Newcastle and proceeded to Edinburgh via Carlisle.

Manchester-Sheffield via Wakefield isn't uncommon either on TPE.

 

[High Dyke]

UK Railtours - Anglian Angel tour a couple of years ago ran booked route from Peterborough to London Liverpool Street, but due to OHL problems at Broxbourne was routed back to the ECML before diverging at Hitchin towards Cambridge, to continue the booked routing.
Info here:

Six Bells Junction

 

[Sultan1056]

Back in the late 90s I was at Kings X waiting to depart for York on the 1500 to Glasgow. Shortly after 1500 an announcement was made stating the train had been cancelled due to overhead line damage. It was then announced that the HST operated 1600 to Aberdeen would run albeit diverted via Cambridge. I decided to join this train rather than take a St Pancras service to Sheffield believing I would get home quicker.
The 1600 departed KX on time and ran via Cambridge arriving into Peterborough around 1800. I thought to myself another hour and I should be just about home. Oh no, the train departed on the slow line to Helpston where I thought my train would be routed onto the Down Fast. However it continued on towards Leicester where after some further delay the train reversed heading down the Erewash Valley and the Old Road via Rotherham Masborough. Arrival into York was some minutes before 2200. I’m not sure if or when the train finally arrived at Aberdeen! I understand both diversions were due to separate overhead line damage.