Trivia: Slowest and fastest services on UK rail network

[BJames]

The 21 minute service was unusual as it was direct (normally even the London trains stop at East Midlands Parkway) but the longer service stopped pretty much everywhere before Leicester where it terminated. Just found it unusual for them to leave 13 minutes apart and call at the same place.

Not anymore - almost all London-Nottingham fasts now have the calling pattern St Pancras - Kettering - Market Harborough - Leicester - Nottingham (and vice versa). The East Midlands Parkway call was dropped in favour of Kettering when the move to Intercity/Connect services was made.

There are some variations (e.g. the 0749 fast Nottingham to London retains the East Midlands Parkway call, and the 1949 fast Nottingham to London calls additionally at Loughborough), but by and large there is an hourly non stop service Leicester to Nottingham/Nottingham to Leicester, generally timed for 20 minutes (e.g. https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:G69651/2023-07-05/detailed#allox_id=0)

 

[Railperf]

I can’t get my little head around a train averaging over 100mph between Didcot and Swindon

Even more stunning is what can be achieved between Reading and Slough - 17.56 miles - scheduled start-to-stop in 11 minutes (95.8mph) - our current best recorded time for a Class 800 is 10 min 25 sec = 101.15mph - pretty quick over such a short distance! And it could be faster still!

Other traction best:
HST - 11 min 00 sec
Class 180 -11 min 01sec
Class 165 - 13 min 26 sec (78.43mph)
Class 50 - 13 min 47sec (76.44mph)
Class 47 - 13 min 54sec (75.8mph)
Class 52 'Western' 15 min 01 sec (70,16mph)