Train travel distances

[Aussie_Rail]

Hi guys,

As some of you may know I plan to come to England sometime this year, preferably late February or early March and so I was wondering as trains are so much more modern and faster than any train in Australia, particularly Victoria I was wondering just how far can you travel by train in one day? That is from within England say London. For example London to so and so in 23 hours etc and the same in daylight hours.

Also the same for within the UK, how far can you travel within daylight hours and how far can you travel before having to return to London before say 7pm etc?

Thanks guys!


AR

 

[metrocammel]

Hi guys,

As some of you may know I plan to come to England sometime this year, preferably late February or early March and so I was wondering as trains are so much more modern and faster than any train in Australia, particularly Victoria I was wondering just how far can you travel by train in one day? That is from within England say London. For example London to so and so in 23 hours etc and the same in daylight hours.

Also the same for within the UK, how far can you travel within daylight hours and how far can you travel before having to return to London before say 7pm etc?

Thanks guys!


AR

I think the 'modern, fast train' idea of getting from A to B quicker is less of a reason than the fact we are a tiny country compared to Oz! Remember, lots of our 'Intercity' trains are powered by HSTs, albeit mostly re-engined. I believe there is a slightly more modern equivalent over there- the XPT.

If you were to leave Kings Cross, on the first train to Scotland, at 0615 you arrive into Edinburgh Waverley at 1110- that is hauled by a late 1980s vintage class 91. From Edinburgh, you could get the 1135 unit to Inverness, arriving in the highest city in Britain by 1506. If you were crazy, and fancied staying overnight in Wick or Thurso, you could then get the 1752 Inverness to Wick- arriving at the most northerly point of the railways at 2214. That is just an example of what you could do, but I seriously wouldn't reccommend it. A nice move purely for 'haulage', is doing the 1200 Highland Cheiftain HST off Kings Cross, which is direct to Inverness, arriving at 2008. You then have 30 minutes in Inverness (which is enough ) and get the 2038 sleeper back to London Euston. It's a nice round trip of the country. Fair enough, you miss the Wick line, but in all honesty, you aren't missing much. -

Of note, if the Highland Cheiftain is running late, and the 30 minute connection is looking dodgy, you can easily bail off the train at, say, Aviemore, where the sleeper stops at 2128- that's a 2 hour connection.

 

[90019]

I believe there is a slightly more modern equivalent over there- the XPT.

The XPT is similar and the locos are bease on the design of the 43, but they are slightly shorter, and use a downrated VP185 with modified cooling and air filters because of the climate.
They also use Budd coaches rather than the Mk3 design
And the HSTs are indeed 4 years older than the XPT.

 

[Pumbaa]

I'd recommend London > Bristol > Birmingham > Newcastle > Edinburgh > London for a taste of British rail really. Variety of mainline, not so mainline, nice rolling stock and not so nice rolling stock... Do-able in daylight hours.

 

[LilLoaf]

I'd recomend taking the 6.15 Kings Cross up to Edinburgh arr 11.10 Class 01 mk 4 carriages, then the 1130 DMU over to Glasgow arr 12.21, then work to Central then if you catch 1240 back to London arr 17.12 if you miss that then the 1340 in london 1801.

thats basically up the East coast of england passing my home town of Newcastle as it happens

or

1005 Paddington - Penzance arr 1505 HST through nice Deven and Cornwall. back same way on the next one back 17.28 i think not sure back in london its about 5 hours though

or

9.30 Liverpool Street - Norwich arr 11.27 through Essex back on the 12.30 into Liverpool St 14.22, then a trip down to Brighton on the Southern out of Victoria them trains run regually you'll be in Brighton 1600 latest spot of tea then head back to Brighton station for 2000 you'll be in London for 2100.

hope this helps

 

[yorkie]

... how far can you travel within daylight hours...

Not very far at that time of the year! But in the middle of May you'd get several additional hours of sunlight.

 

[me123]

Apparently London-York return is your best bet for mileage, but for cost and tedious dullness is a no-go.

I'd suggest London-Glasgow-London-Bristol-London. This can be quite reasonable on Advance tickets, shows the best of British mainlines (well, I don't know about Bristol...) and allows you to see some of our vintage (HST) and modern (Pendolino) stock. You also get a good look at Britain's railways from some of the busiest stations and lines on the network.

 

[jopsuk]

Not very far at that time of the year! But in the middle of May you'd get several additional hours of sunlight.

And at midwinter/midsummer daylight hours can very by a couple of hours between, say, Inverness and London- up the top of Cairngorm (neaver Aviemore), for example, at midsummer the sun doesn't fully set.

So how much travel you get in daylight varys not just by time of year, but by where you travel.

 

[mumrar]

I'd have to suggest a run over the Settle & Carlisle line as a first time visitor.

So:-
06:00 Kings Cross-Leeds arrive at 08:32 - East Coast Mainline
08:49 Leeds-Carlisle arrive at 11:34 - Breathtaking scenery
12:47 Carlisle-Barrow in Furness arrive 15:17 - Fantastic coastal route
15:25 Barrow in Furness-Lancaster arrive at 16:17
16:57 Lancaster-Crewe arrive at 17:59 - West Coast Mainline (at this point you can cut out the last section and go straight back to London Euston on the tilting Pendolino)
18:12 Crewe-Shrewsbury arrive at 18:52
19:16 Shrewesbury-Newport arrive at 20:57 - Scenic Central Wales line
21:39 Newport-Paddington arrive at 23:53 - Great Western Mainline behind a refurbished HST set

It gets a lot done in a day and gives you a balance of all our scenery

 

[D841]

Fair enough, you miss the Wick line, but in all honesty, you aren't missing much.

I think that's a bit unfair. There isn't much at Wick itself, nor at Thurso either, come to that, but the line itself is rural, and it runs along the coast at one point, and through some of the most isolated and uninhabited scenery in Britain, too. Snow fencing where it crosses the northern moors is something you're not likely to find in Oz, either! It was a lot better behind a class 26 in a train of Mk1s with a buffet car, but a 156 + trolley works too.

Personally, I don't think there's any railway line in Scotland, north and west of the Central Belt, which isn't worth riding on.

 

[Techniquest]

Quite so! It is a bit deserted up on the Far North, but it's still worth doing if only to say "I've been all the way to Thurso by rail".

At the time of year suggested, I'd suggest heading west out of Paddington on the 0527 London Paddington to Swansea (via Bristol Temple Meads), arriving around 0850, operated by a First Great Western HST. This would give you a short break in Swansea before getting the 0917 Swansea to Shrewsbury via the Heart of Wales Line, arriving at 134x, operated usually by an Arriva Trains Wales 153. Assuming it reaches Shrewsbury on time, I recommend then continuing up the Marches to Crewe on the 1353 to Manchester Piccadilly, usually operated by an Arriva Trains Wales 175, getting you there for around 1425. By now you will have seen some of the best Wales has to offer. Now it's time to soak up the delights of England. After a short break in Crewe, I would suggest getting the 1509 to Edinburgh, operated by a Virgin West Coast 221, getting you there for 1822. It will be dark by the time you get there, but hopefully you'll get some daylight over the most scenic bits. By now, it'll be pretty dark getting, but I would get the 1900 from Edinburgh down to London Kings Cross. I can't tell you when you'd get there because NXEC's Mixing Deck is encountering problems today, but it should be hauled by a National Express East Coast Class 91 and MK4 'Mallard' set with a DVT on the other end.

It's a long day, granted, but it takes you on a large circular tour of the UK with no turn-backs and encounters some of the finest scenery in Wales and England. Given more time and doing it in the summer, I'd suggest going up to the Highlands of Scotland and doing a bit of a circular that way, but for late February/early March I would suggest the route I've given for a variety of traction and of course the scenery.

 

[Aussie_Rail]

wow, lots of places to go then and a lot further than I anticipated. It's great that you's can travel all over the country by train easily within a day which is more than can be said for round here, the best I can do is Adelaide or Sydney.

I will look forward to doing some of these journey's at some stage, so get ready for plenty of trip invites.


AR