Trivia: Journeys between two locations that can be done in opposing 'directions'?

[cc97]

On the London Underground you have Euston and King's Cross St Pancras being the next stop on the lines in both Northbound and Southbound.

At Exeter St David's you also have services to London going in opposite directions, also formerly at Southampton Central until Southern stopped doing services from London Victoria a few years back.

I guess you could count Portsmouth too as SWR goes, well it goes West, and Southern goes East to reach London

 

[Mojo]

lf you’re going to Gainsborough (Lea Rd) the booking engines will often sell you tickets that could be changing at Doncaster, Lincoln, Peterborough or Retford. Depending on which route the you’re given you could head either northbound or southbound.

 

[Gaelan]

In Edinburgh, Avanti go Waverley-Haymarket-London, while LNER go Aberdeen/Inverness-Haymarket-Waverley-London.

 

[robert thomas]

In Cardiff Central trains to Radyr & points north can leave in either direction.

 

[Farigiraf]

From Oxford to London, GWR services head south while Chiltern services start off by going north.

Manchester Piccadilly to Chester has two direct routes: TFW goes straight west, while Northern services head east to Stockport first.

From Dover Priory, Charing Cross and St Pancras trains start off by heading south, while Victoria trains go north.

Add in 1 change and a lot more of these cases show up. Ridgmont to London takes roughly the same time if you go east via Bedford or west via Bletchley.

 

[NeilCr]

Ramsgate to St Pancras? (If I understand the question rightly)

One way goes via Dover or Canterbury West. The other through Sittingbourne, Rochester, Gravesend etc

 

[mrcheek]

In Edinburgh, Avanti go Waverley-Haymarket-London, while LNER go Aberdeen/Inverness-Haymarket-Waverley-London.

On a similar note, there was once a time when at Edinburgh you could get a service to Birmingham via the West Coast, and a service to Bristol (via Birmingham), that went via the East Coast.

These would often both be Voyagers, both leaving from opposite ends of the same platform!

 

[Spandau]

Blackburn-Rochdale may be done either via Copy Pit or the longer route via Manchester Victoria. The quicker service is invariably NOT the one that says ‘Rochdale’ on the customer information screens!

 

[Pit_buzzer]

From York you can go north or south to Leeds and arrive in Leeds from the West or east

 

[YorkRailFan]

From Newcastle, most southbound trains will usually leave heading south east over King Edward VII Bridge, but sometimes, a southbound train will leave Newcastle heading north east over High Level Bridge and then loop back to join the ECML around King Edward VII South Junction.

 

[jupiter]

From Poole to the West Country you can go East to Southampton or West to Weymouth (my preferred route).

 

[A S Leib]

In Edinburgh, Avanti go Waverley-Haymarket-London, while LNER go Aberdeen/Inverness-Haymarket-Waverley-London.

On a similar note, there was once a time when at Edinburgh you could get a service to Birmingham via the West Coast, and a service to Bristol (via Birmingham), that went via the East Coast.

As examples involving separate London termini have been mentioned, another case is, or at least was at the December 2019 timetable and one train per day until recently, leaving Edinburgh Waverley heading, and arriving at Manchester Victoria, from the east, or going west and reaching Manchester Piccadilly from that direction.

 

[TheSel]

Glenrothes with Thornton to anywhere between Inverkeithing and Edinburgh. Whilst most trains head west via Dunfermline, the occasional one heads east via Kirkcaldy.

 

[xotGD]

From Birmingham New St you can head in either direction to reach Wolverhampton.

Fro Manchester Pic you can head in either direction to reach Huddersfield.

 

[A S Leib]

From Birmingham New St you can head in either direction to reach Wolverhampton

And Tame Bridge Parkway / Walsall.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

from the Atherton line to anywhere not too close, via Hindley/Wigan and via Salford/Manchester are valid routes heading in different directions

 

[MerlinRail 804]

From Birmingham New St you can head in either direction to reach Wolverhampton.

Also Kings Norton/Bromsgrove etc

 

[Hellfire]

In the past from Plymouth you could go south from the station to London via Tavistock and Okehampton or north via Totnes and Newton Abbot. Both lines then crossed at Exeter St Davids with the Southern going off via Exeter Central and Salisbury while the Western headed via Taunton to London Paddington.

 

[Rescars]

There was a time when it was possible to go in either direction to reach any other station on the Circle Line. Does this still work on the Glasgow Subway?

 

[pokemonsuper9]

There was a time when it was possible to go in either direction to reach any other station on the Circle Line. Does this still work on the Glasgow Subway?

Given the Glasgow subway is literally just a circle, yes.


I guess Monument on the Tyne and Wear Metro works too for stations between it and itself on the yellow line.

 

[thenorthern]

Romsey SWR services are an odd one as the trains head south so Southampton Central then loop back round and return to Romsey where they terminate. You can get from Romsey to Southampton by going east or west.

 

[Falcon1200]

At every station on the Cathcart Circle trains for Glasgow Central leave from both platforms.

At Motherwell trains to Glasgow and beyond leave towards Hamilton and Uddingston (direct)/Bellshill/Whifflet.

 

[steamybrian]

At every station on the Hounslow loop, Kingston Loop, many stations on the London to Dartford lines via Woolwich, Bexleyheath and Sidcup.
Thameslink services via London (Farringdon, etc) to Herne Hill, Sutton, Wimbledon, Tooting, Streatham, Herne Hill back to London

 

[stadler]

Crystal Palace and Gipsy Hill and West Norwood all have trains to London Bridge leaving in opposite directions.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

There are Chester-Birmingham trains heading in opposite directions - either via Crewe/Stafford (Avanti) or Wrexham/Shrewsbury (TfW).
Used to apply to London trains before the Paddington route via Wolverhampton LL-Birmingham Snow Hill was closed.

Wrexham had a similar position when WSMR ran to Marylebone (heading south via Leamington), while Virgin headed north to Euston via Crewe.
The new WSMR, if granted paths, would reach Euston via Shrewsbury/Nuneaton, while Avanti/GBR would continue via Crewe/Stafford.

 

[rmHawk765]

Not sure if I got the question correctly - same general direction but would Alexandra Palace count? You can go via both Welwyn (west) and Hertford (diverge east) and still end up at Stevenage.

 

[Royston Vasey]

Swansea to Shrewsbury services (albeit both departing the terminal station facing north) either immediately head west via Llanelli and the HoW, or immediately east via the Marches, the routes converging again at Craven Arms.

 

[Tetragon213]

Birmingham - Bristol can be done via Camp Hill (going East out of New Street via the new stations), or via the Cross City (going West out of New Street via University and Five Ways).

ETA: Melksham-Bath can be done going north via Chippenham, or south via Trowbridge.

 

[frankmoh]

Catford (and C. Bridge) to London.

 

[norbitonflyer]

Edinburgh to Manchester Victoria - you used to be able to do a complete circuit, via the ECML and WCML. ECML leaves from and arrives at the east end of both stations, WCML at the west end. (but WCML trains now go from Piccadilly)

Lincoln to Peterborough - LNER from the west end, EMR from the east
Leeds to York - direct from the east end, via Harrogate from the west

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 3 Apr 2026 ==

formerly at Southampton Central until Southern stopped doing services from London Victoria a few years back.

Not at Southampton - all trains to London go from the east end unless they have been diverted via the Laverstock curve (Salisbury)