Trivia: lowest average speed between two stations

[A S Leib]

What is the lowest average speed, using timetabled mainline passenger services (and, because of this bit, excluding parliamentary services such as Teesside Airport to Denton / Reddish South at 138 hours for 79 miles, or 1.75 miles per hour) and the displacement between them, between two stations in Great Britain?

I'd be surprised if anywhere beats Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog (9.3 miles apart but eight hours via Shrewsbury; ~1.1 mph) although Thornford to Bridgwater (2h+ to move 23 miles, 11.61 mph), Aberystwyth / Pwllheli to west of Carmarthen, Stranraer to the Cumbrian Coast (13.2 mph to Maryport), Whitby to Scarborough (4.1 mph), and a bunch of journeys involving Lincolnshire or the Highlands are quite slow as well.

Edit: I take back the bit about Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog being the slowest. Hessle to Barton-upon-Humber via Doncaster is four hours to end up two miles away from the starting point.

 

[D6975]

None of those is even close...
I'd be surprised if the journey between the two Wigans wasn't in with a shout, they're only a few yards apart.

It takes 25 mins to do approx 100yds, which is about 0.14mph.

Another good one is Heath High Level to Low Level, fastest journey appears to be 26 mins for under 100 yds. that's about 0.13 mph.

 

[nw12398]

Starcross to Exmouth must be one of the lowest for stations with a direct service, and Exeter Central to Exeter St Thomas on the same service is a good one too.

 

[A S Leib]

St. Budeaux Ferry Road to Victoria Road is more than an hour and a half for fewer than eighty feet.

 

[Tomo]

Waterloo to Waterloo East? Not sure what the fastest way to do that using mainline rail would be

 

[Magdalia]

I won't be doing the sums but the following in London and the South East are possibly worthy of investigation.

Canterbury East and Canterbury West
Catford and Catford Bridge
Windsor and Eton Riverside and Windsor and Eton Central
St Albans and St Albans Abbey
Hertford North and Hertford East
Southend Central and Southend Victoria
Tilbury and Gravesend

 

[ANDREW_D_WEBB]

There will be lots in London if the Tube and DLR are not used.

Paddington to Marylebone. Sample itinerary, leave Paddington 10:20, change Oxford, arrive Marylebone 12:50. 2.5 hours for a mile door to door. Probably quicker if the Parliamentary service from West Ealing was running.

Greenford to Sudbury Hill Harrow is only 1.2 miles but would also require a trip to Oxford to go exclusively by mainline services. Given the paucity of service at the latter it could take a fair while.

Liverpool Street to Moorgate (0.7 miles) is also a fair trek by mainline rail, especially given that the Elizabeth Line at the former will also exit into the latter.

Hackney Downs to Hackney Central, given that the two are linked by a footpath taking about a minute.

 

[A S Leib]

I won't be doing the sums but the following in London and the South East are possibly worthy of investigation.

Canterbury East and Canterbury West
Catford and Catford Bridge
Windsor and Eton Riverside and Windsor and Eton Central
St Albans and St Albans Abbey
Hertford North and Hertford East
Southend Central and Southend Victoria
Tilbury and Gravesend

Although most of those also have relatively high frequencies.

Shoeburyness to Sheerness is 3 hours with the Tilbury - Gravesend ferry and 3 and a half via Upminster, Romford and Stratford Int'l (although I don't think walking from Stratford to Stratford International should be allowed. Until Crossrail's open and going through Farringdon's an option I can't think of another way apart from through Barking, Gospel Oak, Clapham Junction and Victoria, which I think takes four and a quarter hours for 10 km; the 2.5 km from Tilbury Town to Gravesend via the West London line takes 3 hours and 28 minutes, or 700 metres per hour).

St. Albans Abbey - Watford Junction - Bletchley - Bedford - St. Albans City is 2 hours and fifty minutes for 0.75 miles, so around 0.26 mph.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 29 Mar 2022 ==

There will be lots in London if the Tube and DLR are not used.

Paddington to Marylebone. Sample itinerary, leave Paddington 10:20, change Oxford, arrive Marylebone 12:50. 2.5 hours for a mile door to door. Probably quicker if the Parliamentary service from West Ealing was running.

Liverpool Street to Moorgate (0.7 miles) is also a fair trek by mainline rail, especially given that the Elizabeth Line at the former will also exit into the latter.

And Euston to King's Cross (800 metres / 900 yards) would be 4 hr 12 via Nuneaton and Peterborough or just a hundred and ten minutes via Willesden Junction, East Croydon and Finsbury Park.

 

[Skipness]

Tyndrum Upper to Tyndrum Lower?

 

[ANDREW_D_WEBB]

Severn Beach to Pilning is 2.30 for 3 miles. The return is “only” 1.50

 

[507020]

None of those is even close...
I'd be surprised if the journey between the two Wigans wasn't in with a shout, they're only a few yards apart.

It takes 25 mins to do approx 100yds, which is about 0.14mph.

And you don’t even have to go far to do it.

Burscough Bridge to Burscough Junction via Wigan and Preston must be a good one, or Liverpool Central to Lime Street via South Parkway

 

[Peter0124]

How about Coatbridge Central to Coatbridge Sunnyside? Stations are just over 500 metres as the crow flies, yet you are routed from Coatbridge Central to Whifflet (change), Whifflet to Partick (change), Partick to Coatbridge Sunnyside. A journey time of 1 hour 54 minutes to do 525 metres. Plus routing you to over 25 miles of track.

0.172 miles an hour on average.

 

[4COR]

Whyteleafe to Upper Warlingham (always a good bet for questions like this) is a close contender. 250m from booking office door to door.

47min journey in that direction from the looks, and so a speed of 0.198mph (via East Croydon) - not quite the slowest, but fairly close.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 30 Mar 2022 ==

Walthamstow Central to Walthamstow Queens Rd. Now, having to be careful in avoiding the tube and walks between stations (is this the OPs intent?), I get a journey changing at Liverpool St, Stratford and Gospel Oak, taking 1h55m.

I measure 297m between stations, so that's 0.096mph average, unless there is a quicker journey...

 

[A S Leib]

having to be careful in avoiding the tube and walks between stations (is this the OPs intent?)

No tube, trams, light rail, ferries, cable cars or walking allowed. I'd be fine with journeys only involving one of those and not mainline services, but I suspect the frequency means that they'd all be quicker than the ones mentioned above (apart from maybe a ferry journey from Liverpool to Newcastle or Dover to Newhaven, but that's moving away from the original question)

 

[Jamesrob637]

Paris Gare du Nord to Paris Gare de l'Est ?

 

[4COR]

Paris Gare du Nord to Paris Gare de l'Est ?

Bit of a stretch to consider them to be in Great Britain though...

 

[liamf656]

Radyr to Coryton is 0.7 miles and takes 35 minutes averaging out as 1.2mph

New Mills Central to New Mills Newtown is 0.37 miles, takes 1.5 hours by train which averages to 0.24mph

Owing to the limited service and awkward changes, it takes 2 hours and 24 minutes to get from Netherfield to Carlton, a distance of 0.2 miles and averaging 0.114mph

 

[baz962]

What would Willesden junction high level to Willesden junction low level take.

 

[Vespa]

Huyton to Roby in Merseyside are fairly close, you can see the other station from the platform, noticed the stopper train doesn't go fast to either station must be 10 mph ish.

 

[A S Leib]

What would Willesden junction high level to Willesden junction low level take.

Willesden Junction - Clapham Junction - East Croydon - Bedford - Bletchley - Watford Junction - Willesden Junction would be four and a half hours.

 

[4COR]

Willesden Junction - Clapham Junction - East Croydon - Bedford - Bletchley - Watford Junction - Willesden Junction would be four and a half hours.

Using the direct Southern Clapham Junction to Watford service is much quicker. (Though only one daily, so I'm suppose that might not be as desired)

 

[Jamesrob637]

Bit of a stretch to consider them to be in Great Britain though...

True however the title doesn't necessarily state UK?!

 

[liamf656]

True however the title doesn't necessarily state UK?!

The first paragraph in the original post does however

 

[scrapy]

Huyton to Roby in Merseyside are fairly close, you can see the other station from the platform, noticed the stopper train doesn't go fast to either station must be 10 mph ish.

Depends if approaching a red signal at Roby. If it's a proceed aspect 50mph+ can easily be safely achieved. Even if its a red is unlikely the train won't reach 30mph

 

[D6975]

Owing to the limited service and awkward changes, it takes 2 hours and 24 minutes to get from Netherfield to Carlton, a distance of 0.2 miles and averaging 0.114mph

At peak times this can be done in just 40 mins.

 

[Old Yard Dog]

Greenbank to Hartford or v.v. takes at least an hour and three quarters. The stations are less than a mile apart, indeed the pair were once advertised as a walking connection.

 

[miklcct]

The OP specifies "two stations" and "displacement". So we can take the longest running loop line and find the closest distance between two neighbouring stops on the loop.

I think this is a bit meaningless and a more useful measure will be the highest / lowest average speed between any two stations on a direct scheduled passenger train, measured according to the track distance.