Trivia: services scheduled to skip the most stations

[A S Leib]

Which passenger services are scheduled to pass the most stations between consecutive calls without stopping? I'd like to focus on regular routes in the UK, but engineering work diversions and international services are fine to include as well. To count as a skipped station, it must be one with regular, at least weekly if not year-round passenger services, which is neither a full, request nor pick-up / set-down stop on the service doing the skipping.

My first thought was the Caledonian Sleeper, followed by nonstop Euston to Warrington services.

• Watford Junction – Carlisle: 30
• London Euston – Warrington Bank Quay: 26 (+ 13 on Watford DC lines which I don't think have WCML platforms and am unsure of counting)
• London Euston – Birmingham International: 20 (+ 13)
• Preston – Stirling (northbound) / Falkirk Grahamston (southbound) / Inverkeithing: 17 / 16 / 15 (all counting Edinburgh Haymarket and Waverley as one each)

17 will also be what some of Lumo's Stirling services running nonstop between Milton Keynes and Preston get, which ties with Stevenage – Newcastle, but fewer than the 27 skipped by nonstop King's Cross – York services.

I think the Night Riviera gets a relatively low 13 (normal route being via Newbury and not Westbury or Castle Cary?). The remaining number of Bristol Parkway superfasts skip 21, and the Great Malvern Oxford nonstop service skips 22 (I think it bypasses Didcot Parkway), so not calling at outer suburban stations seems to help for this purpose. Finally, Winchester to Waterloo nonstop services skip 23, and Ipswich to Stratford – I can't see any nonstop Ipswich to Liverpool Street services, and Manningtree or Colchester to there would be tied or fewer – is another 21 skipped.

 

[Farigiraf]

Which passenger services are scheduled to pass the most stations without stopping? I'd like to focus on regular routes in the UK, but engineering work diversions and international services are fine to include as well. To count as a skipped station, it must be one with regular, at least weekly if not year-round passenger services, which is neither a full, request nor pick-up / set-down stop on the service doing the skipping.

My first thought was the Caledonian Sleeper, followed by nonstop Euston to Warrington services.

• Watford Junction – Carlisle: 30
• London Euston – Warrington Bank Quay: 26 (+ 13 on Watford DC lines which I don't think have WCML platforms and am unsure of counting)
• London Euston – Birmingham International: 20 (+ 13)
• Preston – Stirling (northbound) / Falkirk Grahamston (southbound) / Inverkeithing: 17 / 16 / 15 (all counting Edinburgh Haymarket and Waverley as one each)

17 will also be what some of Lumo's Stirling services running nonstop between Milton Keynes and Preston get, which ties with Stevenage – Newcastle, but fewer than the 27 skipped by nonstop King's Cross – York services.

I think the Night Riviera gets a relatively low 13 (normal route being via Newbury and not Westbury or Castle Cary?). The remaining number of Bristol Parkway superfasts skip 21, and the Great Malvern Oxford nonstop service skips 22 (I think it bypasses Didcot Parkway), so not calling at outer suburban stations seems to help for this purpose. Finally, Winchester to Waterloo nonstop services skip 23, and Ipswich to Stratford – I can't see any nonstop Ipswich to Liverpool Street services, and Manningtree or Colchester to there would be tied or fewer – is another 21 skipped.

By your examples I assume you mean services which skip the most stops between two stations.

Otherwise, today's King's Cross to Aberdeen service, diverted via the Durham coast, skipped 70 stops (not including Tyne & wear Metro stations). That can't be easily beaten.

 

[A S Leib]

By your examples I assume you mean services which skip the most stops between two stations.

That's what I'm looking for.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

I think the Night Riviera gets a relatively low 13 (normal route being via Newbury and not Westbury or Castle Cary?).

Newbury and Westbury/Castle Cary are all on the same route.

Any train that leaves Newbury southbound will reach Westbury eventually. There's no other option.

Then at Westbury, you could send trains via Bristol, reverse them, and then send them the long winded way to Taunton -- and that would avoid Castle Cary -- but no trains are booked to do that apart from during planned blockades -- and certainly not the Night Riviera.


The limited non stop Winchester to Waterloo (0747 dep, 0847 arr) in the morning peak skips 23 stations to get to Waterloo.
There used to be a return but clearly it now stops at Woking or Basingstoke.

 

[A S Leib]

Newbury and Westbury/Castle Cary are all on the same route.

Any train that leaves Newbury southbound will reach Westbury eventually. There's no other option.

Then at Westbury, you could send trains via Bristol, reverse them, and then send them the long winded way to Taunton -- and that would avoid Castle Cary -- but no trains are booked to do that apart from during planned blockades -- and certainly not the Night Riviera.

I thought there was a passing loop at Westbury, but I don't know how comparable it is to Didcot Parkway or Watford High Street in terms of passing and not calling. You're right on Castle Cary, as I should have said Frome.

The limited non stop Winchester to Waterloo (0747 dep, 0847 arr) in the morning peak skips 23 stations to get to Waterloo.
There used to be a return but clearly it now stops at Woking or Basingstoke.

Mentioned that one.

 

[VT 390]

As you have mentioned engineering work diversions are fine to included I would have thought the Caledonian Sleeper East Coast Main Line diversions (either reversing to access Euston or straight in to Kings Cross) would have the highest number of stations for passenger services.

For diversions to Kings Cross on the Lowlander I think its 51 stations if I have counted correctly (Edinburgh to London has no booked stops for passengers), with a few more when going to Euston via the East Coast or for the Highlander.

I know these services stop for staffing reasons but your examples of Watford to Carlisle and Preston to Stirling also do so I think this meets your requirements. It would depend if you mean physically not stopping at stations or not booked to stop for passengers.

 

[MatthewE707]

1Y78 0605 Newcastle - King's Cross and 1S99 2030 King's Cross - Edinburgh are the only two Lumo services to run non stop between King's Cross and Newcastle and skip 33 stations

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 Mar 2026 ==

During the summer, 1C79 1203 London Paddington - Penzance runs non stop from Paddington to Exeter St Davids and skips 30 stations

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Mentioned that one.

Oh yes, not sure how I missed that

 

[adc82140]

Then peak hour Weymouth trains from Waterloo are first stop Basingstoke, that's 20 stations skipped (or 21 if you count Queenstown Road)

 

[Kite159]

I thought there was a passing loop at Westbury, but I don't know how comparable it is to Didcot Parkway or Watford High Street in terms of passing and not calling. You're right on Castle Cary, as I should have said Frome.

For services which normally don't call at Westbury, they use the avoiding lines which run to the south of the station, similar to Frome.

 

[Ian Hardy]

Most SWR services when control decides to run them fast because they are running 2 minutes late

Seriously before the Branksome - Weymouth Line was electrified the hourly Waterloo to Weymouth services were non-stop from Waterloo to Southampton Central so those services passed through 26 stations non-stop (27 if you include Queenstown Road Battersea).

The Royal Scot before the pre-Pendolino timetable recast on the WCML was non-stop between Euston and Preston so that was 24 stops (not including Euxton Balshaw Lane or the DC line stations which would add another 13)

 

[Magdalia]

Non-stop Cambridge-Kings Cross trains skip 24 stations in a distance of 58 miles.

 

[Ian Hardy]

Pre-HS1, the non-stop Eurostar trains from Waterloo International to Paris would pass through 36 stations via Herne Hill or 37 stations via Nunhead.

When the original LNER introduced the non-stop Flying Scotsman in 1928, it went through 127 stations between Kings Cross and Edinburgh Waverley, but in the 98 years since then, most of these stations have been closed, mainly thanks to Dr Beeching's "Reshaping the Railways" report, because as if it ran now it would only pass through 49 stations.

 

[devon_belle]

When the original LNER introduced the non-stop Flying Scotsman in 1928, it went through 127 stations between Kings Cross and Edinburgh Waverley, but in the 98 years since then, most of these stations have been closed, mainly thanks to Dr Beeching's "Reshaping the Railways" report, because as if it ran now it would only pass through 49 stations.

On a similar, but slightly less impressive, note, the GWR ran non-stop Newquay to Paddington expresses at one point. That is about 96 stations by my counting.

I have no better suggestions than already posted for modern services.

 

[WTT Gremlin]

WCML diversion via the Stockport, Castlefield Corridor, & Bolton. Non-stop Crewe to Preston 24 (+3 Slow Line only) by my count.

Pre-HS1, the non-stop Eurostar trains from Waterloo International to Paris would pass through 36 stations via Herne Hill or 37 stations via Nunhead.

When the original LNER introduced the non-stop Flying Scotsman in 1928, it went through 127 stations between Kings Cross and Edinburgh Waverley, but in the 98 years since then, most of these stations have been closed, mainly thanks to Dr Beeching's "Reshaping the Railways" report, because as if it ran now it would only pass through 49 stations.

The majority of the closed stations would still have been closed (or essentially closed) whether or not Dr Beeching was set an exam question.

 

[Magdalia]

in the 98 years since then, most of these stations have been closed, mainly thanks to Dr Beeching's "Reshaping the Railways" report,

Dr Beeching is innocent here. If you want someone to blame then it is Gerry Fiennes. Most of them were closed in the late 1950s as preparation for ECML timetable acceleration using the Deltics.

 

[adc82140]

Pre-HS1, the non-stop Eurostar trains from Waterloo International to Paris would pass through 36 stations via Herne Hill or 37 stations via Nunhead.

Does that include stations on the other side? Frethun, Lille Europe, TGV Haute Picardie and a handful of suburban Parisian ones.

 

[The exile]

Pre-HS1, the non-stop Eurostar trains from Waterloo International to Paris would pass through 36 stations via Herne Hill or 37 stations via Nunhead.

In the very early days, send it to Brussels instead and you can add all the Belgian stations between Lille and Brussels (OK - so they’re not in the UK but it was a train starting there!)
If we expand to Europe, presumably the Nice - Moscow or Zurich - Belgrade sleepers would have been in with a shout if they still ran.

 

[Ian Hardy]

Does that include stations on the other side? Frethun, Lille Europe, TGV Haute Picardie and a handful of suburban Parisian ones.

Yes, I followed the LGV through France on Goggle Earth and counted the stations.