Trivia: Services with Unusual Calling Patterns

[172007]

2H08 -Monday to Friday
Snow Hill to Leamington
Calls, Moor Streer, Acocks Green, Olton, Solihull, Widney Manor, Dorridge, Warwick Parkway, Warwick and Leamington.
Then returns as:
2B21 Monday to Friday
Leamington, Dorridge, Widney Manor, Solihull, Olton, Acocks Green, Tyseley, Moor Street and Snow Hill

 

[Dfatcontroller]

The 04:57 (SuX) Manchester Piccadilly to Glasgow Central train, operated by TPE, which calls at Carstairs, but only Northbound.

In order to connect into ScotRail 2Y94 0705 Glasgow Central - Edinburgh. Thereby providing a connect for England to Edinburgh customers. 08:26 arrival instead of 08:56 with a dicey 03 minute Motherwell connection.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 25 Apr 2026 ==

It’s not even a connection for Edinburgh; many years ago it was, you were dumped onto a windswept station, you got to watch a GNER Glasgow-King’s Cross go through without stopping but then there was a Pendolino which came empty from Polmadie. The Pendolino then ran the only Edinburgh to Euston service of the day. I did both once, on different days.
EDIT It might just be a +5’ into 2Y94 stopping train to Edinburgh.

If TPE draw attention to the fact that 1S30 may be running late, then 2Y94 is held for it.

 

[321362]

This service on six days a week (Monday to Saturday) calls at Seven Kings at 05:36 which is an odd call:

• 04:41 Colchester to London Liverpool Street 05:51

It is the one and only Greater Anglia service to call at any intermediate Elizabeth Line station (other than Shenfield / Romford / Stratford / London Liverpool Street obviously) and runs once a day in one direction only. It is a very odd calling pattern. I would like to know what the logic is behind this one odd Seven Kings call.

To allow staff to get to Ilford Depot for a 6am start I believe. The stop is unadvertised on boards but anyone can theoretically get on/off. However I have heard stories of friends who got up at 5am to get this one service, only for (I'm assuming this is what happened) Control to authorise the driver to skip Seven Kings as nobody wanted to get on/off

 

[Sealink]

East Midlands Railway have a few services between Nottingham - Peterborough and/or Norwich that go via Melton Mowbray/Stamford.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 25 Apr 2026 ==

To allow staff to get to Ilford Depot for a 6am start I believe. The stop is unadvertised on boards but anyone can theoretically get on/off. However I have heard stories of friends who got up at 5am to get this one service, only for (I'm assuming this is what happened) Control to authorise the driver to skip Seven Kings as nobody wanted to get on/off

It is listed as "Service stops to drop passengers off only" on Real Time Trains but not the actual National Rail timetable.

Even though the NRT does show Stratford stops "to set down only"

 

[david737]

On the Harrogate line there is an odd one in the evening peak (1729 Leeds) that misses out Weeton, not sure why it's the only one that does this and the section running times are the same as the other services. Not to much of hardship though as there are departures at 1720 and 1736 from Leeds.

 

[bramling]

There are two Great Northern services originating at Kings Cross which cover all or some the Thameslink semi-fast outer suburban stopping pattern but then continue from Cambridge all stations to Kings Lynn.

06:01 1T94 KGX-KLN arrives 08:03, calls Finsbury Park, Stevenage, Letchworth, Baldock, Ashwell & Morden, Royston, Cambridge and all stations to KLN
23:17 1T72 KGX-KLN arrives 01:14, calls Letchworth, Baldock, Ashwell & Morden, Royston, Cambridge and all stations to KLN.

The first one replicates Thameslink calls, and is half an hour before the first through service from the core up to Cambridge.
The second replicates some Thameslink calls, at a time when Thameslink to Cambridge drops to hourly and then ceases.

In the other direction, only one, the last KLN starter also effectively fills in for Thameslink after the last through service has gone.

22:49 1T97 KLN-KGX arrives 01:04, calls all stations to Cambridge and then the Thameslink semi-fast calling pattern but terminating at Kings Cross.

There must be loads like this at the extremities of the day where service thins and first/last calls must be made.

...

The other example I have in mind are the two EMR Nottingham to Norwich services that identify as CrossCountry services:

04:56 1L01 NOT-NRW calling at Loughborough, then Melton Mowbray, Oakham and Stamford, and then normal routing from Peterborough
06:07 1L02 NOT-NRW additionally calling at East Midlands Parkway

There are no equivalent oddities westbound; the first XC leaves Peterborough at 06:07 and Leicester at 07:05.

The 0601 KX/KL is a curious one, as the original 2018 TL concept had this as a standalone TL service (it also happened to be the only Cambridge/Brighton disgram which was booked for a 700/0).

This was changed to combine it with a KL service, to essentially allow the 700 to overnight in Cambridge instead. At the time GTR carried out some other alterations to the early-morning and late-night Thameslink KX services, presumably to reduce rolling stock mileage. There’s still an element of wastage, with some quite empty contra-flow 12-car trains. The 0531 KX to Cambridge has been a 12-car since 2018 and typically departs KX with no more than about 5 people on it.

There’s a massive GTR overprovision going north from King’s Cross in the very early morning, which stems from the fact that outer-suburban trains tend to be out all day nowadays and most don’t reduce their length for the midday period. Hence more maintenance at Hornsey overnight, which in turn means stock needs to get to the country end ready to provide inbound morning peak services.

 

[Some guy]

Avanti stopping at Hartford is an unusual one

 

[Techniquest]

The most unusual one I’ve seen, indeed that I’ve been on, was a handful of weeks ago. 0555 Leamington Spa to Stratford-upon-Avon with WMR, runs non-stop to Stratford-upon-Avon Parkway.

One of the only, if not the only one, services to use WMR 172s on the westbound curve at Hatton from the Warwick direction Plenty of 172 action on the north curve from the Dorridge direction.

In case anyone’s wondering, no I wasn’t the only one on it! I saw one or two others, however it was certainly not even remotely busy. Naturally it’s next working towards Birmingham would be later on!

 

[Cheshire Scot]

Avanti stopping at Hartford is an unusual one

Restoring a service which was provided a good number of years ago.

 

[Techniquest]

While the memory is going, isn’t there a Sunday service with TfW that calls at Alderley Edge on its way to Manchester? I’ve forgot which one it is that I saw a while ago, certainly a bit different.

 

[hexagon789]

While the memory is going, isn’t there a Sunday service with TfW that calls at Alderley Edge on its way to Manchester? I’ve forgot which one it is that I saw a while ago, certainly a bit different.

There's one each way on weekdays too as well as the Sunday workings.

 

[Techniquest]

There's one each way on weekdays too as well as the Sunday workings.

Thanks, I was having a moment of thinking I’d imagined them

 

[Mcr Warrior]

While the memory is going, isn’t there a Sunday service with TfW that calls at Alderley Edge on its way to Manchester? I’ve forgot which one it is that I saw a while ago, certainly a bit different.

On Sundays at 09:47 and at 21:48. Return at 22:30. Scarcely frequent enough to warrant dedicated route "TfW RS only" fares.

 

[hexagon789]

Thanks, I was having a moment of thinking I’d imagined them

Realtime Trains is useful for quickly checking times and frequency!

 

[JD2168]

There is a Northern train from Scarborough to Sheffield that goes via Selby instead of Goole, presumably to keep route knowledge

 

[Barnsley]

2Y00 1600 Sheffield - York on Sundays misses Rotherham, runs direct Meadowhall - Swinton

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 Apr 2026 ==

There is a Northern train from Scarborough to Sheffield that goes via Selby instead of Goole, presumably to keep route knowledge

1900 Scarborough - Sheffield, the 1957 Sheffield - Hull does aswell, its a route-retainer for Hull crews

 

[lxfe_mxtterz]

2D03 05:39 London Waterloo to Guildford via Epsom runs fast between Effingham Junction and London Road, skipping out Horsley and Clandon.

I believe it's now the only service which skips out these stations, though of course back when Southern operated a limited service down to Guildford, Horsley and Clandon were skipped regularly on some of their services.

 

[The exile]

The 05.17 Oban - Glasgow does suburban stops at Singer, Maryhill and Possilpark & Parkhouse - the only train of the day to offer a direct connection between the first and the other two.

 

[Cheshire Scot]

The 05.17 Oban - Glasgow does suburban stops at Singer, Maryhill and Possilpark & Parkhouse - the only train of the day to offer a direct connection between the first and the other two.

And the only service at Singer from stations not on the electrified network

 

[800002]

Both the 1720 (1J92) and 1750 (1J94) St. Pancras Intl - Margate (via Ashford Intl) omit Ebbsfleet.
Catches a number of folk out.

1J11 and 1J15 (0615 a d 0715) Margate - St Pancras do the same in the morning too.

 

[iphone76]

This service on six days a week (Monday to Saturday) calls at Seven Kings at 05:36 which is an odd call:

• 04:41 Colchester to London Liverpool Street 05:51

It is the one and only Greater Anglia service to call at any intermediate Elizabeth Line station (other than Shenfield / Romford / Stratford / London Liverpool Street obviously) and runs once a day in one direction only. It is a very odd calling pattern. I would like to know what the logic is behind this one odd Seven Kings call.

There is also the 0400 Southend Victoria to London Liverpool Street which also calls at Seven Kings Monday to Saturdays. (Headcode 1K01).

 

[Peter0124]

Two Avanti southbound via Birmingham's skip Lancaster. With the first (9M53) stopping at both Penrith and Oxenholme, then running non stop to Preston.

 

[Robert Carroll]

Peak time calls at Crofton Park and Bellingham by Victoria-Gillingham South Eastern trains are unusual as all or virtually all other services calling at intermediate stations on the Catford Loop outside of Nunhead are Thameslink I believe. I can only think that this is largely because the peak time Catford Loop Thameslink trains are very busy and those aiming for Victoria would otherwise change at Denmark Hill or Nunhead. In the morning peak, there are GN outer suburban calls at New Barnet but the equivalent trains in the evening peak follow the off-peak pattern of Finsbury Park, Alexandra Palace then fast to Potters Bar. Then there are the evening peak London Bridge-Sutton trains which are all stations to West Croydon then fast to Sutton, omitting Waddon, Wallington and Carshalton Beeches.

 

[NSE]

The newly returned, much trumpeted locally Eastbourne - London Bridge and the existing Littlehampton - London Bridge (I think it’s the via Worthing, don’t know about the Bognor - London Bridge via Littlehampton and Horsham) run fast through Gatwick.

 

[Krystal]

c2c services in the peaks. More often than not you get trains skipping a lot of stations. Time for examples:

• The 0648 Shoeburyness to Fenchurch Street service runs fast between Laindon and Fenchurch Street.
• The 0712 Fenchurch Street to Leigh-on-Sea service calls at Barking and Basildon only.
• The 0542 Thorpe Bay to Fenchurch Street service calls at Upminster, West Ham and Limehouse but not Barking.
• The 0718 Shoeburyness to Fenchurch Street services calls at all stations until Chalkwell, then only calls at Basildon and West Ham.
• The 0708 Leigh-on-Sea to Fenchurch Street service calls at Barking, West Ham and Limehouse but not Upminster.
• The 0607 Shoeburyness to Fenchurch Street does not call at Southend Central.

Et cetera, et cetera.

 

[NSE]

c2c services in the peaks. More often than not you get trains skipping a lot of stations. Time for examples:

• The 0648 Shoeburyness to Fenchurch Street service runs fast between Laindon and Fenchurch Street.
• The 0712 Fenchurch Street to Leigh-on-Sea service calls at Barking and Basildon only.
• The 0542 Thorpe Bay to Fenchurch Street service calls at Upminster, West Ham and Limehouse but not Barking.
• The 0718 Shoeburyness to Fenchurch Street services calls at all stations until Chalkwell, then only calls at Basildon and West Ham.
• The 0708 Leigh-on-Sea to Fenchurch Street service calls at Barking, West Ham and Limehouse but not Upminster.
• The 0607 Shoeburyness to Fenchurch Street does not call at Southend Central.

Et cetera, et cetera.

I forget the exact time, but circa 2013/2014, there was a morning peak that ran fast from Benfleet. I always liked that one as they generally got a fast run and it wasn’t held on cautionary aspects much at all.

 

[sammyg901]

The 2133 M-F Stratford-upon-Avon to Marylebone I find interesting- the only direct service to London these days, usually a 2 car 165 and lots of stops - the last arrival into Marylebone at just before midnight. Can't imagine it's very popular with tourist visitors to that part of the world!

Sat&Sun the last Birmingham-London Marylebone is an all stations service. I took it a few times from High Wycombe ~20 years ago and often quite busy with rather fed up looking people !

 

[Some guy]

Two Avanti southbound via Birmingham's skip Lancaster. With the first (9M53) stopping at both Penrith and Oxenholme, then running non stop to Preston.

That’s been the case for a while now I know 9M53 has to due to a freight path around its timing

 

[hexagon789]

That’s been the case for a while now I know 9M53 has to due to a freight path around its timing

Certainly, when I used what was then the 1000 Glasgow to Euston, it was Penrith only between Carlisle and Preston, omitting Lancaster.

I don't think that's a new development, I'm fairly sure the Scotland-Birminghams often omitted Lancaster since the VHF timetable came in.

 

[Some guy]

Certainly, when I used what was then the 1000 Glasgow to Euston, it was Penrith only between Carlisle and Preston, omitting Lancaster.

I don't think that's a new development, I'm fairly sure the Scotland-Birminghams often omitted Lancaster since the VHF timetable came in.

Yeah even the express Glasgows northbound especially used to not call at Lancaster. I remember the 10:30 and 13:30 never used to serve Lancaster