Trivia: Services with Unusual Calling Patterns

[Krystal]

Three late-night, non-Norwich Greater Anglia trains skip Stratford, being the:

• 1F79 2008 Braintree to Liverpool Street, runs fast between Shenfield and Liverpool Street
• 1Y42 2100 Liverpool Street to Ipswich, runs fast between Liverpool Street and Chelmsford
• 1Y44 2200 Liverpool Street to Ipswich, runs fast between Liverpool Street and Chelmsford

Other Greater Anglia anomalies include:

• The 0800 Norwich to Liverpool Street service runs fast between Ipswich and Stratford, not calling at Colchester or Manningtree
• The 0506 Liverpool Street to Stansted service calls at Sawbridgeworth
• The 1920 Braintree to Shenfield service does not go into London (forms an ECS into Ilford), and does not call at Chelmsford

 

[The exile]

The 2133 M-F Stratford-upon-Avon to Marylebone I find interesting- the only direct service to London these days, usually a 2 car 165 and lots of stops - the last arrival into Marylebone at just before midnight. Can't imagine it's very popular with tourist visitors to that part of the world!

Indeed - it’s too late for the “day out” market and 90 minutes or so too early for the theatre crowd. However, it presumably does what it does for operational reasons rather than to serve any particular market requirement.

 

[britishrail375]

There's quite a few services with odd stopping patterns on the SEML (South Eastern Main Line), probably too many for me to list in full. Here are some examples:
05:46 Tunbridge Wells - Charing Cross calls additionally at Chelsfield and New Cross.
06:32 and 07:04 Hastings - Cannon Street skip Tonbridge, Hildenborough and Sevenoaks, call at Chelsfield, then skip Orpington. The same is done in reverse by the 17:15, 17:45 and 18:15 Cannon Street - Hastings.
07:15 Hastings - Charing Cross and 07:37 Ramsgate - Charing Cross are fast from Tonbridge to London Bridge.
00:20 Cannon Street - Tunbridge Wells calls additionally at Chelsfield, Knockholt and Dunton Green.
Some Hastings and Tunbridge Wells trains call additionally at Chelsfield, mostly in the morning and evening peak, as well as in the early morning and late evening. Other peak services such as Ashford - Cannon Street make some additional stops and some skip stations normally served by every train.


For those not familiar with the usual calling patterns of the SEML:
Tunbridge Wells - Charing Cross is usually Tunbridge Wells, High Brooms, Tonbridge, Hildenborough, Sevenoaks, Orpington, London Bridge, Waterloo East and Charing Cross.
Hastings - Charing Cross is usually the following from Tunbridge Wells: High Brooms, Tonbridge, Hildenborough (1tph), Sevenoaks, Orpington, London Bridge, Waterloo East and Charing Cross.
Ramsgate - Charing Cross is usually the following from Paddock Wood: Tonbridge, Sevenoaks, London Bridge, Waterloo East and Charing Cross.

In summary, the peak time trains on the SEML have quite a large variety of stopping patterns. If I've gotten anything wrong, please do correct me.

 

[Supercoss]

Only one East Midlands Railway Intercity service calls at Bedford in up direction Monday to Saturday ( 1B98 m-f )
This is one of the most wrongly routed trains in the country if not the world as all other intercity services use the platform less up fast and do not call at Bedford heading towards St Pancras

 

[bramling]

One which hasn’t been mentioned, 1854 KX to Cambridge calls at Stevenage but not Hitchin, the opposite of all the others in the pattern. From the new timetable a Hitchin stop is being added.

 

[Kilopylae]

The southbound 17:33 Barnstaple to Exeter skips Kings Nympton and only Kings Nympton - it serves Lapford, Chapelton and St Cyres, which are only served on the all stations trains. Kings Nympton is normally a little "higher priority" than those latter two - the semi-fasts skip Chapelton and St Cyres, and alternate between stopping at Kings Nympton and Lapford. No idea why it's randomly bypassed on one otherwise all-stations train at six o'clock.

 

[brad465]

The 17:36 Charing X-Dartford via Lewisham & Sidcup skips Lee and Mottingham, something every other service on the routine half-hourly frequency doesn't.

The 10:03 Paddington-Penzance skips Taunton, while the 12:03 in the summer skips Reading, Taunton, Newton Abbot & Totnes, which combined with Exeter being pickup only, makes Plymouth the first station a passenger is legally allowed to get off the train.

There are also some late night Hayes-Lewisham services that run non-stop in passenger service and terminate there, as staff don't close down a passenger train at Hayes.

 

[cduncan]

Weekdays only 2Y13 0715 London Waterloo to Southampton Central via Guildford is an extended Haslemere terminator but continues to call at all the PDL/WC stations to Fareham then Swanwick, Netley, Woolston and St Denys before terminating at Southampton. This is advertised in full. The same occurs on 2Y61 1915 but this one doesn't call at St Denys and is advertised as terminating at Fareham. 2Y57 1815 Waterloo to Fareham does actually terminate at Fareham, in turn running empties to Northam.

On Saturdays 2Y63 1945 is like 2Y61 on the weekday but its advertised in full.

Weekdays only 1L53 1650 Waterloo to Westbury via Yeovil Junction I think this is the only service that does a reversal en route at Yeovil Junction that continues pass Pen Mill. This is advertised as terminating at Frome.

 

[Krystal]

There's quite a few services with odd stopping patterns on the SEML (South Eastern Main Line), probably too many for me to list in full. Here are some examples:
05:46 Tunbridge Wells - Charing Cross calls additionally at Chelsfield and New Cross.
06:32 and 07:04 Hastings - Cannon Street skip Tonbridge, Hildenborough and Sevenoaks, call at Chelsfield, then skip Orpington. The same is done in reverse by the 17:15, 17:45 and 18:15 Cannon Street - Hastings.
07:15 Hastings - Charing Cross and 07:37 Ramsgate - Charing Cross are fast from Tonbridge to London Bridge.
00:20 Cannon Street - Tunbridge Wells calls additionally at Chelsfield, Knockholt and Dunton Green.
Some Hastings and Tunbridge Wells trains call additionally at Chelsfield, mostly in the morning and evening peak, as well as in the early morning and late evening. Other peak services such as Ashford - Cannon Street make some additional stops and some skip stations normally served by every train.


For those not familiar with the usual calling patterns of the SEML:
Tunbridge Wells - Charing Cross is usually Tunbridge Wells, High Brooms, Tonbridge, Hildenborough, Sevenoaks, Orpington, London Bridge, Waterloo East and Charing Cross.
Hastings - Charing Cross is usually the following from Tunbridge Wells: High Brooms, Tonbridge, Hildenborough (1tph), Sevenoaks, Orpington, London Bridge, Waterloo East and Charing Cross.
Ramsgate - Charing Cross is usually the following from Paddock Wood: Tonbridge, Sevenoaks, London Bridge, Waterloo East and Charing Cross.

In summary, the peak time trains on the SEML have quite a large variety of stopping patterns. If I've gotten anything wrong, please do correct me.

Combining this with the fact that the 0632 and 0704 Hastings to Cannon Street services do not call at Sevenoaks or Tonbridge but calls at Chelsfield - so you get London Bridge to Chelsfield to High Brooms which is bonkers. Oops, you already mentioned it.

There's also the 0826 Cannon Street to Dartford via Lewisham and Woolwich service. That doesn't call at London Bridge.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 30 Apr 2026 ==

Once upon a time there was also a summer special between Cannon Street to Ramsgate via Greenwich, Gravesend and Margate. It stopped at most stations en route except London Bridge. Worse, the inbound return journey DID call at London Bridge. All on a 465.

 

[liamf656]

Only one East Midlands Railway Intercity service calls at Bedford in up direction Monday to Saturday ( 1B98 m-f )
This is one of the most wrongly routed trains in the country if not the world as all other intercity services use the platform less up fast and do not call at Bedford heading towards St Pancras

There's a handful that call at either Wellingborough or Bedford, northbound in the morning and southbound in the evening

 

[The Prisoner]

0600 Paddington to Penzance doesn’t stop at Par - seems to be the only service not to call there all day, yet it manages Bridgwater and St Germans amongst others.

Late night/early morning Chester - Manchester TfW runs miss Warrington Bank Quay as it’s closed for the night. Not odd from a staffing perspective I suppose, but manages all the other usual stops (Helsby, Frodsham, Runcorn east, earlestown and Newton le Willows), when WBQ is by far the largest intermediate stop on the route.

On a similar note there used to be a Didcot - Paddington HST (0716?) weekdays for commuters which stopped at the likes of Tilehurst and skipped Reading. That made sense as Reading had plenty of services to choose from, but still looked odd!

A few years ago Virgin ran a service from Penrith at 1303 calling only at Preston and London Euston. Used to enjoy that one!

 

[richard1976]

Transport for Wales
The first southbound (Mon-Sat) on the Conwy Valley line misses out several station stops
All other services on the line call at all stations

 

[NSE]

0600 Paddington to Penzance doesn’t stop at Par - seems to be the only service not to call there all day, yet it manages Bridgwater and St Germans amongst others.

Late night/early morning Chester - Manchester TfW runs miss Warrington Bank Quay as it’s closed for the night. Not odd from a staffing perspective I suppose, but manages all the other usual stops (Helsby, Frodsham, Runcorn east, earlestown and Newton le Willows), when WBQ is by far the largest intermediate stop on the route.

On a similar note there used to be a Didcot - Paddington HST (0716?) weekdays for commuters which stopped at the likes of Tilehurst and skipped Reading. That made sense as Reading had plenty of services to choose from, but still looked odd!

A few years ago Virgin ran a service from Penrith at 1303 calling only at Preston and London Euston. Used to enjoy that one!

There’s always a reason. Maybe the St Germans and Bridgwater stop could only be accommodated by cutting the Par stop.

As for the Warrington one (not my neck of the woods so I might be completely wrong) but is there a diversionary/chord that isn’t shown on the maps (like an avoiding line) so not by not having the Warrington stop it can be diverted if need be?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

As for the Warrington one (not my neck of the woods so I might be completely wrong) but is there a diversionary/chord that isn’t shown on the maps (like an avoiding line) so not by not having the Warrington stop it can be diverted if need be?

Not really. Chester to Manchester via Runcorn East and Patricroft essentially either requires routeing through Warrington Bank Quay station or a very roundabout alternative route and then a reversal.

 

[Kite159]

There’s always a reason. Maybe the St Germans and Bridgwater stop could only be accommodated by cutting the Par stop.

As for the Warrington one (not my neck of the woods so I might be completely wrong) but is there a diversionary/chord that isn’t shown on the maps (like an avoiding line) so not by not having the Warrington stop it can be diverted if need be?

It misses Warrington as the station is closed, the other stations are open

Previously it used to run nonstop between Manchester & Chester going via Northwich, before TfW axed a lot of the route knowledge for diverts (Crewe - Stafford - Wolverhampton, via Bescot)

 

[The Prisoner]

Not strictly on topic but sort of…. when Avanti was severely disrupted on 23/4 the last two Euston - Preston dropped their Warrington Bank Quay and Wigan North Western stops as the services were running late and the stations were closed by the time the services were due to call.

Assume Warrington closes around midnight as the last train booked to call is at 2350 - a randomly routed Birmingham International to Manchester Piccadilly TfW service routed via Shrewsbury, Wrexham and Chester (itself an oddity) with Wigan’s last service booked for 2335.

With Avanti running around 75 late on the 23rd those services passed through without stopping (much like two services on the Manchester - Chester route passing through Warrington at 0014 and 0055 I mentioned above) and everyone for Wigan and Warrington had to get off and be put in taxis at Crewe.

This obviously makes Warrington and Wigan travellers on those last two services at risk of yet further delay (taxi from crewe) for the sake of operational convenience as there is a fairly decent chance of a 40 minute plus delay in the event of any significant disruption. This could find those stations closed and the stops removed (last of those two is due in Warrington at 2320, and as above both services on the 23rd were over an hour late).

Wonder how many times it has happened? Certainly doesn’t seem resilient. No doubt an extra 30-60 minutes breaches some agreement or other to keep those stations open if needed.

 

[Sad Sprinter]

A more historical one, but in the pre-HS1 South Eastern timetable there was a morning up train from Ramsgate I think, that called at Petts Wood

 

[voyagerdude220]

A few years ago Virgin ran a service from Penrith at 1303 calling only at Preston and London Euston. Used to enjoy that one!

I strongly agree, particularly given how busy some Scotland to London Trent Valley services can be South of Preston. When the 11:40 Glasgow (your 1303 from Penrith) to Euston used to run none stop after Preston all those years ago, there was also a "relief" 13:39? Pendolino running from Lancaster which would call at Wigan and Warrington as normal.

There was also similarly the 13:40 Glasgow to Euston at the time which I seem to remember ran Glasgow-Carlisle-Oxenholme-Preston-Euston, again with a 15:39? from Lancaster calling at Wigan and Warrington.

Maybe the introduction of Lumo and their 6-car Standard Class only 222s could potentially relieve a little pressure on the Avanti trains.

 

[scrapy]

Not strictly on topic but sort of…. when Avanti was severely disrupted on 23/4 the last two Euston - Preston dropped their Warrington Bank Quay and Wigan North Western stops as the services were running late and the stations were closed by the time the services were due to call.

Assume Warrington closes around midnight as the last train booked to call is at 2350 - a randomly routed Birmingham International to Manchester Piccadilly TfW service routed via Shrewsbury, Wrexham and Chester (itself an oddity) with Wigan’s last service booked for 2335.

With Avanti running around 75 late on the 23rd those services passed through without stopping (much like two services on the Manchester - Chester route passing through Warrington at 0014 and 0055 I mentioned above) and everyone for Wigan and Warrington had to get off and be put in taxis at Crewe.

This obviously makes Warrington and Wigan travellers on those last two services at risk of yet further delay (taxi from crewe) for the sake of operational convenience as there is a fairly decent chance of a 40 minute plus delay in the event of any significant disruption. This could find those stations closed and the stops removed (last of those two is due in Warrington at 2320, and as above both services on the 23rd were over an hour late).

Wonder how many times it has happened? Certainly doesn’t seem resilient. No doubt an extra 30-60 minutes breaches some agreement or other to keep those stations open if needed.

Wigan does have a 00.04 Northern service from Liverpool to Preston. So its surprising they couldnt stay open another 30 mins, i know its been done in the past when the Northern service has run late.

 

[AndrewE]

Avanti stopping at Hartford is an unusual one

Restoring a service which was provided a good number of years ago.

When I worked in the Temple Meads train enquiries office in 1974 I was told that the morning Bristol-Liverpool and evening return trains called there because of the need for ICI bigwigs to travel between the Avonmouth and Northwich sites...

 

[nw1]

A historical example but there was the 1832 Waterloo-Portsmouth and Southsea (Fratton for a time IIRC) in the 80s.

The service called at Godalming and Witley but not Farncombe.

Off-peak, you'd get 1tph calling at all stations on the Guildford-Haslemere stretch and 1tph calling at Farncombe and Godalming, so a train which skipped Farncombe but called at Witley was somewhat unusual.

Up-line, the train would also call at Walton and Weybridge but skip Surbiton, but that wasn't so uncommon in the peak over the years. So in total it was Waterloo-Walton-Weybridge-Woking-Guildford-Godalming-Witley-Haslemere-all to Havant, then non-stop Fratton and PSS.

 

[Cheshire Scot]

When I worked in the Temple Meads train enquiries office in 1974 I was told that the morning Bristol-Liverpool and evening return trains called there because of the need for ICI bigwigs to travel between the Avonmouth and Northwich sites...

That makes sense. Back then of course Harford also had a London train, out a.m. back p.m.

 

[AndrewE]

That makes sense. Back then of course Hartford also had a London train, out a.m. back p.m.

...probaby for the same reason! (ICI bigwigs)

 

[colisnort]

The 17:36 Charing X-Dartford via Lewisham & Sidcup skips Lee and Mottingham, something every other service on the routine half-hourly frequency doesn't.

The 10:03 Paddington-Penzance skips Taunton, while the 12:03 in the summer skips Reading, Taunton, Newton Abbot & Totnes, which combined with Exeter being pickup only, makes Plymouth the first station a passenger is legally allowed to get off the train.

There are also some late night Hayes-Lewisham services that run non-stop in passenger service and terminate there, as staff don't close down a passenger train at Hayes.

Why don't the trains get closed down at Hayes?

 

[brad465]

Why don't the trains get closed down at Hayes?

A combination of safety and logistics I believe that come with its relatively isolated location on the network.

 

[AndrewE]

The 10:03 Paddington-Penzance skips Taunton, while the 12:03 in the summer skips Reading, Taunton, Newton Abbot & Totnes, which combined with Exeter being pickup only, makes Plymouth the first station a passenger is legally allowed to get off the train.

3 hours for 200-odd miles is pretty good, especially as the slower bit will be in the more scenic part of the country. I might have to have a run out, especially as it looks like a weekday train...

 

[Kite159]

There is also 1V94, the 08:02 Charing Cross to Hayes which runs nonstop to Hayes after London Bridge if anybody wants the novelty of a non-stop run (although I suspect more a crawl). Guess it's similar to some Orpington - London Charing Cross/Cannon Street services which were nonstop to London Bridge, run as a way to get the stock back to work an extra service.

 

[tram21]

I always found the Central Trains services from Skegness/Nottingham to Manchester Airport odd as they didn't call at Wilmslow yet Virgin Trains did.



The 07:02 service from Derby to Sheffield also stops at Belper, as does the 22:59 Sheffield to Derby.

With the Belper calls it's down to franchise agreements I assume so people from Belper who work in Sheffield can get to work. The actual text of the franchise agreement says.



Here is a link to the service levels agreement if anyone is interested. https://assets.publishing.service.g...ds-limited-2022-train-service-requirement.pdf

That's really interesting. I notice that in the agreement there has to be an evening return service to Lincoln from London. But there's not, so how do they get around that?

 

[liamf656]

That's really interesting. I notice that in the agreement there has to be an evening return service to Lincoln from London. But there's not, so how do they get around that?

I believe (but don't quote me) that COVID allowed some flexibilities in the agreement which I assume would be the reason of the withdrawal of the evening service to Lincoln. I could be wrong however

 

[Robert Carroll]

There's quite a few services with odd stopping patterns on the SEML (South Eastern Main Line), probably too many for me to list in full. Here are some examples:
05:46 Tunbridge Wells - Charing Cross calls additionally at Chelsfield and New Cross.
06:32 and 07:04 Hastings - Cannon Street skip Tonbridge, Hildenborough and Sevenoaks, call at Chelsfield, then skip Orpington. The same is done in reverse by the 17:15, 17:45 and 18:15 Cannon Street - Hastings.
07:15 Hastings - Charing Cross and 07:37 Ramsgate - Charing Cross are fast from Tonbridge to London Bridge.
00:20 Cannon Street - Tunbridge Wells calls additionally at Chelsfield, Knockholt and Dunton Green.
Some Hastings and Tunbridge Wells trains call additionally at Chelsfield, mostly in the morning and evening peak, as well as in the early morning and late evening. Other peak services such as Ashford - Cannon Street make some additional stops and some skip stations normally served by every train.


For those not familiar with the usual calling patterns of the SEML:
Tunbridge Wells - Charing Cross is usually Tunbridge Wells, High Brooms, Tonbridge, Hildenborough, Sevenoaks, Orpington, London Bridge, Waterloo East and Charing Cross.
Hastings - Charing Cross is usually the following from Tunbridge Wells: High Brooms, Tonbridge, Hildenborough (1tph), Sevenoaks, Orpington, London Bridge, Waterloo East and Charing Cross.
Ramsgate - Charing Cross is usually the following from Paddock Wood: Tonbridge, Sevenoaks, London Bridge, Waterloo East and Charing Cross.

In summary, the peak time trains on the SEML have quite a large variety of stopping patterns. If I've gotten anything wrong, please do correct me.

Some years back, there were other unusual patters such as peak hour Hastings trains that were first stop (after Waterloo East or London Bridge) High Brooms and the peak Tunbridge Wells services were fast London Bridge to Chelsfield, then Sevenoaks and all stations. Many years ago, there were Bexleyheath Line trains fast London Bridge-Kidbrooke. There were one or two morning trains that entered passenger service at Dumpton Park but I think they now run empty to Broadstairs.