Sammy h
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Sorry, but not a chance you will get a bus that takes 12 minutes to get from Lancaster to Morecambe unless it's 2am and it breaks the speed limit all the way there!!
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Train Journeys That Would be Quicker by Bus
- Thread starter Mutant Lemming
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Sorry, but not a chance you will get a bus that takes 12 minutes to get from Lancaster to Morecambe unless it's 2am and it breaks the speed limit all the way there!!
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dvboy
Established Member
Pretty sure Lincoln - Scunthorpe, Grantham, Skegness and Boston can all be done quicker by bus than by train.
Statto
Established Member
Don't know if it's been mentioned but Blackpool North to Blackpool South, 1 hour to 1 hour 25 minutes on the train changing at Kirkham & Wesham with return fare of £20
, about 10/15 minutes on the bus, not sure of the fare but Blackpool Transport Adult daysaver ticket is £3:50.
, about 10/15 minutes on the bus, not sure of the fare but Blackpool Transport Adult daysaver ticket is £3:50.Statto
Established Member
I'm not sure many people would need to travel from North to South though
Well many people would travel to the Pleasure Beach from North, which will be similar fares on Rail & Bus, just a few minutes quicker on the train, few minutes longer on the bus/tram.
scotsman
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Dalgety Bay, Aberdour, Burntisland and Kinghorn to Dunfermline Town
Seacook
Member
The Wolverhampton to Walsall route has been mentioned already. The train stops at Sandwell and Dudley and Tame Bridge Parkway, 33 minutes apart. The number 4 bus takes 19 minutes from SAD to TAB direct (and continues to Walsall, taking another 14 minutes while the train takes an additional 9).
Inverness-Kyle is about 30 minutes quicker by bus.
Edinburgh and Perth to Inverness is usually slightly quicker by bus, the timetable shows 2h15m between Perth and Inverness, the reality is often closer to 2 hours. The train is 2hr10m from Perth, alhough I notice the 0835 express from Edinburgh is not as express as it used to be with additional stops at Blair Atholl and Dalwhinnie.
Edinburgh and Perth to Inverness is usually slightly quicker by bus, the timetable shows 2h15m between Perth and Inverness, the reality is often closer to 2 hours. The train is 2hr10m from Perth, alhough I notice the 0835 express from Edinburgh is not as express as it used to be with additional stops at Blair Atholl and Dalwhinnie.
CheekyBandit
Member
After the journey I have just had London Bridge to St Pancras International 
manchester to eccles on bus/tram or both im faster by bus and that is official
http://www.traveline-northwest.co.u...erview.do?rid=1355927287969&hss=dlztW84240702
http://www.traveline-northwest.co.u...erview.do?rid=1355927287969&hss=dlztW84240702
But traffic being as it is, and trams being as they are, I'd wager both journeys would take a much more likely 30 minutes, if not 35.
Old Yard Dog
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Bradford to Brighouse due to the time the train spends hanging about in Halifax station
Tomonthetrain
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Even though there's probably only a maximum of about a minute in it, I reckon it's quicker by bus from Stourbridge Junction to Stourbridge Town, but it's hardly much of a journey, being about 3 minutes in total!
Bus takes 5-6 minutes. Especially because of a diversion
172212
Member
Even though there's probably only a maximum of about a minute in it, I reckon it's quicker by bus from Stourbridge Junction to Stourbridge Town, but it's hardly much of a journey, being about 3 minutes in total!
Looking at the 276 timetable, it seems to take longer than the tram, taking 7 minutes compared to 3:
http://jp.networkwestmidlands.com/c...dLPxx_lineVer=1&outputFormat=0&itdLPxx_debug=
elarchibaldo
Member
Bolton to Bury. I know it's not all train, but it's by rail. The combined train and tram time is around 50 minutes. The 471 bus, operated by First, takes only 30-40 minutes, depending on the Traffic.
Not going to wade through all the pages of this thread (not right now anyway), so this may have already been said, but:
Carmarthen - Cardiff.
The 20 only runs twice a day, but it shows how the M4 completely trashes any hope of rail being time-competitive for Carmarthen - Cardiff via Swansea. If express rail services using the Swansea District Line were introduced (calling at Llanelli, Port Talbot Parkway and Bridgend only) they could do it in arround 1hr 23mins (going by the diversionary timetable showing Cardiff - Llanelli at 1hr 1min and the current 1 train per day that doesn't stop at Pembrey and Burry Port doing Carmarthen - Llanelli in 22mins).
Carmarthen - Cardiff.
Rail Journey Time: most take 1hr 40mins or more, but one does it in 1hr 33mins
Arriva Buses Wales 20 service: 1hr 26mins (ok, it's meant to be a coach service, not a bus, but Arriva seem to use Wright Pulsars on it, not sure how often that is compared to use of the coaches though)
Arriva Buses Wales 20 service: 1hr 26mins (ok, it's meant to be a coach service, not a bus, but Arriva seem to use Wright Pulsars on it, not sure how often that is compared to use of the coaches though)
The 20 only runs twice a day, but it shows how the M4 completely trashes any hope of rail being time-competitive for Carmarthen - Cardiff via Swansea. If express rail services using the Swansea District Line were introduced (calling at Llanelli, Port Talbot Parkway and Bridgend only) they could do it in arround 1hr 23mins (going by the diversionary timetable showing Cardiff - Llanelli at 1hr 1min and the current 1 train per day that doesn't stop at Pembrey and Burry Port doing Carmarthen - Llanelli in 22mins).
Kryten2340
Member
South Shields to Sunderland will be quicker by bus then by metro via Pelaw won't it?
mr_jarhead
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Woolwich Arsenal to Kidbrooke
Bus : 22 Mins
Direct train via Slade Green : 38 mins
Bus : 22 Mins
Direct train via Slade Green : 38 mins
12CSVT
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Slightly off topic, Eridge to Tunbridge Wells is probably unique for two settlements served by National Rail stations where it is quicker to travel between the two using a preserved railway (albeit only on Spa Valley Railway operating days).
martinsh
Established Member
Blaenau Ffestininog to Porthmadog springs to mind !
Markdvdman
Member
That is HIGHLY dubious!
On an all stopper service you may be right - but if the bus stops everywhere like the train it has no chance!
Take the FGW service or the Arriva services that only stop at Bridgend/Port Talbot/Neath/Swansea/Llanelli/Pembrey+Burry Port and they will almost always be faster.
Direct maybe so, but you have to remember the rails do not get the traffic issues that the lkikes of National Express get!
National Express Cardiff to Swansea stops at the same areas as FGW but takes 80 mins as opposed to something like 53mins.
I prefer the rail anyway as the roads outside the motorways are chronic on that route!
Flying Snail
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Nothing dubious about it, the Arriva 20 has only 1 intermediate stop and the time I used it was a few minutes early arriving into Cardiff. A reasonable trip on a well-used but comfortable coach, certainly comparable comfort wise to the best rail alternative on that route.
I used the service all the way from Aberystwyth and had no complaints at all. Had it been a bus rather than the coach which I assume must happen on occasion as they only have 2 coaches to cover the service it would have been a different story, I reckon I would have switched to the train at Carmarthen in that case. As it was I stayed on and had a significantly quicker journey time than the railway could provide. I did wonder that with a more frequent service and some decent marketing if it could provide some proper competition for the rail service between Cardif and Carmarthen, not sure if there would be enough custom for that to be comercially viable though.
johnnychips
Established Member
Doncaster-Goole at the moment :cry:
Markdvdman
Member
Yes but 1 intermediate stop!!! It is dubious as if it was identical stops it could not compare! that infers it is fairly direct and really an unfair comparison!
Hyphen
Member
I'd be less worried about that as a comparison than the fact it only runs twice a day (08:18 and 16:33 to Cardiff), as mentioned above. I dare say if I rocked up in Carmarthen around 10am wanting to go to Cardiff, the train would be a lot quicker than waiting for the next bus! By all means the coach can be quicker, but if it doesn't provide a frequent service, it seems a little pointless.
That said, I understand completely that Carms-Cardiff isn't this route's core priority and I think it's very useful that it runs to the railway station for those who do want to go further east. I used this route to Aberystwyth once, back when it stopped at Swansea on the way to/from Cardiff (it probably didn't beat rail then), back when it ran with service buses! And yes - it certainly was quicker than Swansea-Aberystwyth than by train!
However, rail could do it around that fast, with three intermediate stops versus the coach's one, if the Swansea District Line was used (1hr Cardiff - Llanelli, 22mins Llanelli - Carmarthen) but frustratingly there isn't the available rolling stock to do it.
The coach may be infrequent, but it shows just how woefully indirect the present rail service is compared to road is on that route, against the car rail doesn't really stand a chance (plenty of intermediate flows along the route though (eg. Llanelli - Swansea) were rail is a decent option).
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