Services with no intermediate stops due to the fact that there are no intermediate stations.

[Andy Pacer]

This is true - I'd be interested to know 1. what the purpose of running those is, and 2. whether they are OLE-powered or diesel.

They mostly run on Sunday mornings, when two of the MML tracks are closed to allow for engineering work, and hence there isn't enough capacity for all the normal services to run through to St Pancras. They are now operated by class 360 units, i.e. OLE powered.

There are some in the early mornings on other days, presumably to get the unit from Kettering sidings to Corby which would otherwise be ECS

Realtime Trains | 1Y99 0555 Kettering to Corby | 09/04/2022

Real-time train running information for 1Y99 0555 departure from Kettering to Corby on 09/04/2022. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[Cricketer8for9]

Does TfL still operate Mill Hill East to Finchley Central shuttles?

 

[bramling]

Does TfL still operate Mill Hill East to Finchley Central shuttles?

Not since last September.

 

[miklcct]

Yes, the Kings Lynn services are now the 'Cambridge Flyers' so they no longer meet this model.

You've got the Stourbridge shuttles, though these are segregated from the rest of the network.

With the Brighton-Hove shuttles not currently running, I can't immediately think of any others.

Brighton - Hove shuttles are still running on weekends. It's weekday service which has been scaled down massively.

 

[railwaytrack]

I am not too sure whether or not they still run but i know at least before the corona virus there were some Redhill to Reigate and Reigate to Redhill services. They were run by Southern 377s. They might still run but i do not have a copy of the current timetable to check.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I am not too sure whether or not they still run but i know at least before the corona virus there were some Redhill to Reigate and Reigate to Redhill services. They were run by Southern 377s. They might still run but i do not have a copy of the current timetable to check.

Think all the Southern services between Reigate and Redhill operate by continuing to/from London Victoria (or Tonbridge on Sundays), and vice-versa. No shuttles.

Happy to be proved wrong on this but that's my understanding.

 

[mm333]

Before the Canal Tunnels opened, there used to be a 2350(-ish) Kings Cross-Finsbury Park service.

 

[samulih]

Good question. Altho I understood it first and then was reading answers thinking like I was wrong... Chester-Crewe might be longest one....

 

[kieron]

A few more:

Chester-Wrexham General and reverse
These are part of getting the Wrexham-Bidston trains to and from the line. The morning train doesn't run through to Wrexham Central as a single service because there's a lot of shunting involved.

Heathrow Central-Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 and reverse
The standard timetable has a London-Heathrow Central train in the early morning, closely followed by a shuttle to T5. I don't know why. A T5 shuttle only runs in the other direction during engineering works.

There's a Rugby-Coventry train tomorrow as the line beyond Coventry is closed.

There's a Newport-Cardiff Central train next month. It would start from Hereford, but the line from there is closed.

 

[james60059]

The last Lumo service from Kings Cross (1S99) to Newcastle, next stop - Newcastle.

 

[northwichcat]

It was never a "branch line", and the Euston-Chester Avanti service is hardly a "shuttle" .
In the fairly recent past (BR/FNW), the service pattern was (Birmingham-) Crewe-Holyhead-Crewe-Chester-Crewe, with the shuttle integrated with the longer distance service.
ATW turned it into a local shuttle by diverting the long-distance Birmingham-Chester-Holyhead train via Shrewsbury and Wrexham.
Virgin/Avanti then increased their services to Chester/North Wales via Crewe, though the service is a bit thin at the moment.

The Chester to Crewe service is the one being referenced in the context of this thread as it's a train service currently operated with no intermediate stations. I'm aware that was a half-hourly service until Virgin enhanced the Chester to London services from a few per day to one per hour. I'm also aware the Wales & Borders franchise messed around with routes to satisfy the nationalists in Wales and the franchise only exists due to the Welsh politicians not liking North West & North Wales as a franchise area but I hadn't kept track of every change to the English lines within that franchise.

 

[Magdalia]

Good question. Altho I understood it first and then was reading answers thinking like I was wrong... Chester-Crewe might be longest one....

From 1969 to 1972 there was a 1720 Norwich to Diss, almost as long as Crewe-Chester, but not quite.

I'm trying to recall if there was ever a train that started at Peterborough and terminated at Grantham. Another one that might have existed, at some point since the Selby diversion opened, is Doncaster-York or vice versa.

 

[Watershed]

The last Lumo service from Kings Cross (1S99) to Newcastle, next stop - Newcastle.

That service does indeed have no intermediate stops when it's curtailed at Newcastle, however there are 33 intermediate stations so it doesn't qualify for this question by any stretch of the indication!

 

[30907]

From 1969 to 1972 there was a 1720 Norwich to Diss, almost as long as Crewe-Chester, but not quite.

I'm trying to recall if there was ever a train that started at Peterborough and terminated at Grantham.

Unlikely, but Peterborough-Spalding did (and still does at times??).

 

[BJames]

Before the Canal Tunnels opened, there used to be a 2350(-ish) Kings Cross-Finsbury Park service.

This actually still exists - e.g. 23:46 today - seems to be Sunday only though.

Realtime Trains | 2E70 2346 London Kings Cross to Finsbury Park | 17/04/2022

Real-time train running information for 2E70 2346 departure from London Kings Cross to Finsbury Park on 17/04/2022. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[scrapy]

Does TfL still operate Mill Hill East to Finchley Central shuttles?

The last 2 trains of the day only run from Mill Hill East to Finchley Central

 

[Shrop]

Interesting topic but hard to grasp what is being asked! I read it to mean a long way between stations, where there hasn't been an intermediate station for many years. If this is the correct interpretation, I'd offer Peterborough to Grantham, Oxenholme to Penrith, and an even further distance - Lockerbie to Carstairs. If I've misunderstood, well its time for sleep!

 

[swt_passenger]

Interesting topic but hard to grasp what is being asked! I read it to mean a long way between stations, where there hasn't been an intermediate station for many years. If this is the correct interpretation, I'd offer Peterborough to Grantham, Oxenholme to Penrith, and an even further distance - Lockerbie to Carstairs. If I've misunderstood, well its time for sleep!

Doesn’t have to be a long distance - just no stations at all between the origin and destination of a timetabled service.

This was confirmed by the OP in post #9...

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Interesting topic but hard to grasp what is being asked! I read it to mean a long way between stations, where there hasn't been an intermediate station for many years. If this is the correct interpretation, I'd offer Peterborough to Grantham, Oxenholme to Penrith, and an even further distance - Lockerbie to Carstairs. If I've misunderstood, well its time for sleep!

Nothing operates solely between Oxenholme and Penrith (or Lockerbie and Carstairs). These are intermediate stops on longer services, not end-to-end journeys.

Presumably also the case with Peterborough to Grantham.

 

[Shrop]

Doesn’t have to be a long distance - just no stations at all between the origin and destination of a timetabled service.

This was confirmed by the OP in post #9...

Nothing operates solely between Oxenholme and Penrith (or Lockerbie and Carstairs). These are intermediate stops on longer services, not end-to-end journeys.

Presumably also the case with Peterborough to Grantham.

Ah okay, I thought I was getting tired when I posted last night, I'd not quite understood!

I guess my point is tangential then, but as an aside, I wonder if anyone can think of a longer stretch between two stations than Lockerbie to Carstairs, where no intermediate stations exist at all. (Okay, I know neither are journey origin or destination points!).

I could look this up, but i can't think off the top of my head, if there were ever any intermediate stations between Chester and Crewe, and it must be many years since there were any stations between Peterborough and Grantham too, or between Oxenholme and Penrith. These were just thoughts as I was falling asleep last night.

 

[Watershed]

I guess my point is tangential then, but as an aside, I wonder if anyone can think of a longer stretch between two stations than Lockerbie to Carstairs, where no intermediate stations exist at all. (Okay, I know neither are journey origin or destination points!).

Lockerbie to Kirknewton is even further, at 64 miles 42 chains. I don't know whether there has ever been a service which called at both of those stations - but if there was, I certainly can't imagine that any would ever have started at Lockerbie and terminated at Kirknewton.

 

[BeijingDave]

Some that I believe may have happened at various times (but don't have the resources to look up):
Aberdeen-Dyce
Stirling-Alloa
Kettering-Corby

 

[py_megapixel]

Kettering-Corby

The first couple of services out of Corby on a Sunday morning only go as far as Kettering.