Trivia: Stations linked by track with short distances between them.

[Krystal]

For the purposes of this post, the Tube and other metro services are excluded.

Stations which come to mind are Canada Water and Rotherhithe, with around 550 metres between the two stations, or Bromley North and Sundridge Park, with about 700 metres.
Any more?

 

[girothedog]

Ardrossan Town & Harbour must be a similar distance apart as your example. Invershin and Culrain are probably less than a kilometre apart. Whitchurch and Coryton (Cardiff) might be contenders too. Wrexham General and Central are also pretty close.

 

[sir_gummerz]

Severn tunnel junction and Caldicot are 0.7 miles apart, both are visible from the other

 

[BeijingDave]

Warrington West to Sankey for Penketh (which it was intended to replace, but is still open) is around 500m. Google maps estimates the walk at 13 minutes. I would say it could be done in half that if you're a brisk walker.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 19 May 2026 ==

Earlestown to Newton-le-Willows is a circuitous 1.6 miles by road (station entrance to station entrance) but must probably be about 800m if you could walk alongside the track from the end of Earlestown platform 4/5.

 

[lxfe_mxtterz]

Whitchurch and Coryton (Cardiff) might be contenders too.

Whitchurch and Rhiwbina appear to be even closer!

 

[InkyScrolls]

Saltaire to Shirley, and Crossflatts to Bingley, are both ~½ mile apart.

 

[mike57]

Deansgate and Manchester Oxford Road are about 600m apart.

 

[SECR 65]

I don't know the exact distance, but London Road Brighton and Brighton are pretty close together.

 

[xdbjacx]

Garforth and East Garforth. Hard to understand the logic behind building the latter on a line with such serious capacity issues.

 

[The exile]

Duke St and Alexandra Parade.
Culrain and Invershin

 

[OverSpeed]

Birmingham Moor street to Birmingham Snow Hill.

 

[D6130]

Dumbarton Central and Dalreoch

Hyndland and Jordanhill

Glasgow Central (LL) and Argyle Street

Gilsochill, Summerston and Maryhill

Worthing and West Worthing

Havant and Bedhampton

Fratton, Portsmouth & Southsea and Portsmouth Harbour

 

[Sean Emmett]

I'll need to give this some thoight, but as a train-timer my test would be where the station to station start to stop time is less than a minute. In essence, the shortest 'fastest time'.

Example on the Whitchurch branch already quoted and St James to Moorfields can be under a minute.

 

[birchesgreen]

Wylde Green can be seen from the end of the platform at Chester Road. Pretty close i think.

 

[rmHawk765]

Winchmore Hill to Grange Park on the Hertford Loop, visible from eachother.

There are a fair few examples of short distances in London (NLL & Goblin come to mind but can't name any off the top of my head), though not many that are visible from eachother.

 

[Traveller54]

Prestwick town to Prestwick International Airport

 

[Magdalia]

For the purposes of this post, the Tube and other metro services are excluded.

Stations which come to mind are Canada Water and Rotherhithe, with around 550 metres between the two stations, or Bromley North and Sundridge Park, with about 700 metres.
Any more?

It isn't a well defined question in 2 respects.

If Metro services are excluded, how is Rotherhithe-Canada Water not part of that exclusion?

How short is short? And, given that Network Rail still measure in miles and chains, measuring in metres isn't very helpful.

On Thameslink, Blackfriars-City Thameslink is 28 chains (about 560 metres) and City Thameslink-Farringdon is 32 chains (about 640 metres).

On the Liverpool Street-Enfield Town route there are 13 intermediate stations in less than 11 miles. Of the adjacent station pairs, only Liverpool Street-Bethnal Green and Edmonton Green-Bush Hill Park are more than a mile apart. I think the closest are London Fields and Hackney Downs at 43 chains (about 860 metres).

Winchmore Hill to Grange Park on the Hertford Loop, visible from eachother.

I have this as 52 chains. Between Finsbury Park and Gordon Hill only Palmers Green-Winchmore Hill is more than 1 mile.

Anglia has various stations less than a mile apart out of London including:

37 ch Harwich Town-Dovercourt
52 ch Southend Victoria-Prittlewell
74 ch Colchester Town-Hythe
77 ch Brundall Gardens-Brundall

 

[Class15]

Winchmore Hill to Grange Park on the Hertford Loop, visible from eachother.

There are a fair few examples of short distances in London (NLL & Goblin come to mind but can't name any off the top of my head), though not many that are visible from eachother.

Hampstead Heath and Finchley Road & Frognal can be seen from eachother, but it‘s through a tunnel and they‘re not close.

Maybe Highbury & Islington and Cale Rd & B?

 

[cornishjohn]

Where are we measuring between? Hampton Wick and Kingston are just over 400 m between platform ends.

Kempton Park to Sunbury looks to be about 500 m.

 

[Peter0124]

Dalmarnock <-> Bridgeton is about 800m

 

[AdamWW]

Whitchurch and Rhiwbina appear to be even closer!

Try Birchgrove and Ty Glas.

 

[Web4160]

Garforth to East Garforth 800 metres

 

[Fenchurch SP]

I have seen a long freight train stopped at the signal at Wandsworth Road with the rear of the train in Clapham High Street station. 31 chains apart I believe so about 620m.

 

[zwk500]

I have seen a long freight train stopped at the signal at Wandsworth Road with the rear of the train in Clapham High Street station. 31 chains apart I believe so about 620m.

Just beating Dalston Junction to Haggerston at 32 chains, but apparently Rotherhithe to Canada Water is just 17 chains (342m)!

ELL1 mileages

Engineer's Line References: ELL1

www.railwaycodes.org.uk

 

[JKF]

We’ve definitely done this subject before!

A newish one: Portway Park & Ride to Shirehampton is slightly over 600m as the crow flies from platform end to platform end, though the line curves slightly so the rail distance will be longer.

On the same line, Montpelier to Redland is about 625m as the crow flies, and Redland to Clifton Down (straight) 800m.

I wonder what the shortest distance for three stations would be? Montpelier to Clifton would be about 1500m on the track.

 

[zwk500]

I wonder what the shortest distance for three stations would be? Montpelier to Clifton would be about 1500m on the track.

Rotherhithe-Canada Water-Surrey Quays on the East London/Windrush Line is 43 chains, or 865m.

 

[Class15]

I have seen a long freight train stopped at the signal at Wandsworth Road with the rear of the train in Clapham High Street station. 31 chains apart I believe so about 620m.

I’ve seen this happen at several stations on the NLL, an example would be Finchley Road & Frognal to West Hampstead.

 

[zwk500]

I’ve seen this happen at several stations on the NLL, an example would be Finchley Road & Frognal to West Hampstead.

Ooh, good spot at 21 chains between nominal positions (c.420m). A 775m freight train waiting at the signal at one may even be out the back end of the 2nd platform.

 

[swt_passenger]

It isn't a well defined question in 2 respects.

If Metro services are excluded, how is Rotherhithe-Canada Water not part of that exclusion?

Rotherhithe - Canada Water on the ELL is now suburban rail. It’s regulated in exactly the same way as other parts of the Overground, as normal heavy rail. Yes it’s relatively high frequency, but it’s not a metro.

 

[Recessio]

Newhaven Harbour and Newhaven Town.

Guildford main and London Road Guildford aren't that close, but they're considerably closer as the crow flies (~0.7 miles) or even the quickest walking route (~0.85 miles) than they are in track miles (1 mile 23 chains) because the railway does a huge northward curve on a viaduct over the north of Guildford rather than straight across the top edge of the town centre.