best value local rail journey

[miklcct]

I frequent travel on London Overground (West London Line / North London Line) and it's very impressive that for just £1.90 (before discount) I can travel around half of London, all the way from Richmond to Stratford (22.4 km as the crow flies).

Are there any local journeys which have better value, using the following criteria:

• The journey must be wholly on rails.
• The distance (as the crow flies) must be less than or equal to 25 km.
• The fare must be either a PAYG (pay as you go) fare or a walk up fare which can be bought immediately before travel.

What is the cheapest (in terms of fare over crow-flying distance) such journey?
If we only include journeys where there are at least 4 trains per hour, what is the winner?

 

[The exile]

Certainly not my 20km journey at £10.50 anytime single! (And 45 minute journey time!)

 

[yorksrob]

I'd love to say, but I don't trust the b*****s not to get rid of it.

 

[xotGD]

If we only include journeys where there are at least 4 trains per hour, what is the winner?

Well it won't be in the North of England!

 

[Springs Branch]

Glasgow Subway adult single flat fares are £1.55 for PAYG using a Smartcard, or £1.75 for a paper ticket.
I don't know which pair of Subway stations are furthest apart as the crow flies, but I'm confident would be <25 km.

For this price you can go from one side of central Glasgow to the other, across the Clyde and, I suppose, ride round and round the circle for as long as you like provided you don’t exit the system. Trains every four minutes at peak times and every six-to-eight minutes off-peak.

 

[A S Leib]

Well it won't be in the North of England!

Southport – Chester is 51 km (or 39 km to Hooton if Hooton – Chester's below 4 tph) and the all areas day saver is £5.95. By rail changing at Liverpool Central Southport – Chester's 58 km, so that's ~5.13p / km even if you don't use the day saver to make any other journeys. I know journeys under 25 km was specified; I'd guess that there's at least some Merseyrail journeys of that length for which the day saver's the cheapest option.

For comparison, a Fishguard Stena single from Wick to Rosslare with the ferry portion unused would work out at ~4p / km, a Margate – Weymouth via Barnham return and a Penzance – Cairnryan (– Belfast) return at ~5p / km, a Tiverton Parkway – Penzance off-peak day return at 6p, an anytime day return from Shrewsbury to Pwllheli / via Llandovery to Swansea at 7-8p, a super off-peak return (WMT only) from Euston to Crewe at 8p, Hayes & Harlington – Brentwood with Oyster / contactless at 9p avoiding Zone 1 or 10p through it, ~10p / km for an anytime return (Grand Central only) between York and Sunderland, and at ~12p / km, the off-peak return not via London from Aberdeen to Penzance isn't terribly priced.