Visiting stations with a 'parliamentary' service

[harry42]

Hello,

At some point me and a couple of friends are planning to travel on all the 'parliamentary trains' and visit most of the stations.

Pages like Wikipedia just give examples and dedicated forums give hundreds-that probably aren't all ghost trains-just unusual journeys.

We would be EXTEREMELY appreciative if you could give us a FULL, CLEAR list to use - whether it be a web link or you know ALL of them.

Thanks

 

[yorkie]

How exactly do you define a "parliamentary" service? Do you define it as the absolute minimum service specified by acts of parliament or do you assign some arbitrary figure and count any station that has no more than that figure?

The minimum service is one train per week, so with that definition there won't be many!

The only ones I can think of are:

Denton
Reddish South
Pilning

Tees-side Airport doesn't appear to count as it has 2 trains on Sundays, and numerous other stations narrowly miss out a few trains on one particular day of the week, or one or two trains on weekdays.

If you want to work to a particular alternative definition, if you provide the definition, we can find out (or you could use a site such as realtimetrains.co.uk, selecting advanced mode) but, as you say, examples of infrequent services are covered by sites such as Wikipedia.

 

[Eagle]

The minimum service is one train per week, so with that definition there won't be many!

The only ones I can think of are:

Denton
Reddish South
Pilning

Bordesley is also one train a week (if there aren't any football specials).

 

[D365]

Might this website be of some use?

 

[harry42]

Thanks for the PSUL link-there are quite a lot-we might use some of them with no more than 1 train a day or something.

We honestly have no idea what a parliamentary train should be classed as! No more than than 1 train a day seems good!

Any more links like that that anybody knows of?

 

[Mojo]

Pilning has two trains - one towards Taunton and one towards Cardiff (Saturdays only).

 

[harry42]

Any additions VERY WELCOME. Also, any gaps you know?!

11:36 Paddington to West Rulslip Mon-Fri
11:02 South Rulsip to Paddington Mon-Fri (Assuming)
--:-- Frodsham-Runcorn Summer Saturday
--:-- Helsby to Ellesmere Port 4 a day
--:-- Styal to Crewe/Manchester 3 a day
--:-- Teeside Airport ---
07:23 Polesworth to Crewe Mon-Sat
10:13 Stockport to Staylbridge Fri
--:-- Lancaster to Windmere ---
--:-- Sheffield-York via Pontecraft 2 per day
11:02 South Ruslip-Paddington Mon-Fri
06:38 Wolverhampton-Walsall Sat
--:-- Sheffield-Cleethropes Sat
06:18 Battersea Park-Highbury+Is. Mon-Sat
20:35 London Liverpool-Grays Mon-Fri
05:31 London Liverpool-Enfield Sat (via South Tottenham)
16:01 Streatham Hill-London Bridge Mon-Fri (via Tulse Hill)
09:03 Cannon St-Beckenham Junction Mon-Fri
--:-- Pilining-Cardiff (and Taunton) Sat only
12:25 Dunblane-Kings Cross Sun only
07:23 Crewe, which starts at Northampton at 06:35 (06:38 on Saturdays)
07:53 Chester to Runcorn , Summer Saturdays only

 

[12CSVT]

06:54 Bedford-Brighton via Gypsy Hill Mon-Fri

There are numerous Bedford - Brighton services (and vice versa) which use this route - all peaktime services not booked to call at London Bridge, and also overnight services depending on engineering work.

 

[route:oxford]

Any additions VERY WELCOME. Also, any gaps you know?!

12:25 Dunblane to London Kings Cross. (Sundays Only. Southbound Only).

 

[RPM]

Any additions VERY WELCOME. Also, any gaps you know?!

11:36 Paddington to Gerrards Cross Mon-Fri

It only runs to West Ruislip. Hasn't run to GER for quite some time.

There's also an up working; 11.02 South Ruislip - Paddington.

 

[swt_passenger]

Any additions VERY WELCOME. Also, any gaps you know?!

10:02 Olympia-Wandsworth Rd. Mon-Fri

No longer runs since ORR confirmed withdrawal quite recently. While it lasted it did meet most people's definition of a parliamentary service though...

Problem with PSUL (quoted above) is that many of its 'unusual' services are nothing to with 'parliamentary' in its modern usage, (i.e. avoiding official closure procedures, or avoiding withdrawal of a passenger service), but are just there for diversionary route familiarity, aka route knowledge retention.

In fact some PSUL entries appear to be completely unnecessary, eg Blackfriars Junction outside Portsmouth and Southsea - I've never understood why they list it at all...

 

[yorkie]

12:25 Dunblane to London Kings Cross. (Sundays Only. Southbound Only).

I don't get this. I thought the OP wanted stations with a 'parliamentary' service, which has now expanded to no more than one train per day... Dunblane has many trains each day; the others just don't go to London.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

We honestly have no idea what a parliamentary train should be classed as!

As mentioned above, the minimum service specified by acts of parliament must be at least one train per week.

So for a service to be at the bare minimum it must be only one train per week.

But it appears you actually want...

No more than than 1 train a day seems good!

... which is fine, you can decide what you want a list of, but a lot of the examples you have been given are actually more frequent than that.

 

[Cherry_Picker]

Bordesley is also one train a week (if there aren't any football specials).

Amazingly somebody got on said train this week!

 

[tractakid]

Not really about parliamentary services, but this thread may be of interest... http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=78410

 

[Holly]

... As mentioned above, the minimum service specified by acts of parliament must be at least one train per week..

What about one train per week Summers only? Halton curve.

 

[D6975]

The 1635 Derby - St P is a good train to do, goes via the North chord at Syston Jcts and does Oakham - Corby as well. Get off at Kettering though - it sits there for quite a while.

20:35 London Liverpool-Grays Mon-Fri

There's a 21:35 as well.
When I was up there a couple of years ago there were even more, I did two return trips Stratford - Barking one night when I had nothing better to do.

 

[Class172]

Polesworth I think also gets a parlimentary service:-

According to wiki:

07:23 London Midland service to Crewe, which starts at Northampton at 06:35 (06:38 on Saturdays)

 

[harry42]

What about one train per week Summers only? Halton curve.

Could you expand on this? E.g. what route etc.

 

[Green Lane]

Could you expand on this? E.g. what route etc.

07:53 Chester to Runcorn , Summer Saturdays only

 

[D6975]

It's where the Chester-Warrington BQ line goes under the Crewe-Liverpool line. There's a chord connecting the two.

 

[rftorf]

A few of us have been gradually walking the Wales Coastal Path. We did the section between Severn Tunnel Junction across the old Severn Bridge and then caught the once a week train from Pilning back to STJ on Saturday 8th June. We just managed to catch it. A long time to wait until the next one!


150102 Parliamentary Train Pilning 080613 by robfrowen, on Flickr

 

[tbtc]

I don't get this. I thought the OP wanted stations with a 'parliamentary' service, which has now expanded to no more than one train per day... Dunblane has many trains each day; the others just don't go to London.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

As mentioned above, the minimum service specified by acts of parliament must be at least one train per week.

So for a service to be at the bare minimum it must be only one train per week

I agree with Yorkie here.

You could define it as "stations that see only one train a week" or you could define it as "sections of line that see only one train a week" but there's no point in mentioning things like Dunblane - London or Ellesmere Port - Helsby in a thread like this.

There are some "odd" services out there too, but there needs to be a line drawn somewhere, and I think that "one a week" deserves its own category.

 

[thelem]

Newhaven Marine is still technically open and I believe has an occasional train, but is closed to passengers. It's within a few hundred metres of another station on the same line and should really have been properly closed years ago, but that's very bureaucratic.

 

[Cherry_Picker]

There is a video on YouTube about Newhaven Marine station: http://youtu.be/yTmumbrKohs

And yes, it appears you can walk between Newhaven Marine and Newhaven Harbour almost as quickly as a train can make the journey. If Google Maps are to be believed, the Newhaven Marine, Newhaven Harbour and Newhaven Town are all within half a mile of each other on the same street!

 

[Hartington]

Not a "Parly" but the Overground usually uses the High Level platforms aat Willesden Junction.

However, this one http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/L77004/2013/07/16/advanced goes to platform 2 at the Low Level.

 

[Buttsy]

If looking at stations with one train a day (I assume it's meant as one train a day in each direction), you can notch off 3 by being on the 17:15 Didcot - Great Malvern as it calls at Combe, Finstock and Ascott-under-Wychwood (the latter should have the Moreton-in-Marsh shorts stopping there and Shipton as well in my opinion). The southbound service starts at Worcester Foregate Street at 06:52.

 

[harry42]

A few of us have been gradually walking the Wales Coastal Path. We did the section between Severn Tunnel Junction across the old Severn Bridge and then caught the once a week train from Pilning back to STJ on Saturday 8th June. We just managed to catch it. A long time to wait until the next one!


150102 Parliamentary Train Pilning 080613 by robfrowen, on Flickr

You think the Wales coast path is a long way! Me and a mate are walking from lands End to John o Groats in 2016!

 

[185143]

16:04 Ellesmere Port to Warrington Bank Quay. Took that train today with a whole 156 to myself!