Shortest journey on National Rail

[The Johnster]

Birchgrove is still open  - it's my local station! However it lost one platform as did Rhiwbina and Whitchurch when the line was singled.

 

Dave

 

Oops!  Makes Ty Glas-Coryton even more impressive for the number of stations you can see, and it is a very short hop to Birchgrove from Ty Glas.

Edited August 13, 2017 by The Johnster

[phil_sutters]

I'd like to offer up Newhaven Harbour to Newhaven Town, no idea of the distance (yet) but both stations are visible to each other

Of course, Newhaven Marine to Newhaven Harbour was even shorter. I am not sure whether Marine has now been formally closed, although all the buildings have now been demolished and the platform divided in half by a security fence along its length.

This 2014 shot was taken from the Harbour station footbridge. The large white canopy is on the Marine station. 70013 went up there to take on water from the ESFRS bowser, which can be seen on the left.

 

Edited August 13, 2017 by phil_sutters

[caradoc]

Alexandra Parade to Duke Street in Glasgow. I think it's something like 27 chains?

 

Mark

 

On the same route Springburn and Barnhill are very close, and visible from each other.

[Fat Controller]

When we moved down to Kent in 1991, Westenhanger Racecourse was still open on Race Days; the Down end of its platforms was only a few chains from the Up platform of Westenhanger itself.

[Mark Saunders]

Manchester Victoria to Manchester Exchange?

[drduncan]

Ryde pier head to ryde esplanade?

Duncan

[JohnR]

Am I right in saying that the rear of the train has not yet cleared Old Street when the front arrives in Moorgate? I'm sure its one pair of stations on the NOrthern City line...

[owentherail]

Tamworth high level to Tamworth low level...... You don't need a train, just stairs!!!

[F-UnitMad]

I don't think anyone's mentioned the Stourbridge shuttle, Junction to Town.

Read Post no's 5 & 6 !!!

[Liam]

Read Post no's 5 & 6 !!!

Sorry, missed that!

[jjb1970]

City Thameslink to Blackfriars, allegedly 14 chains

 

Andi

That one always amuses me. I'm not even sure why City Thameslink exists given Farringdon is a very short walk North and Blackfriars platforms virtually butt onto City Thameslink. The station spacing on that section of Thameslink seems a bit silly. Farringdon serves a much bigger purpose than just being a stop for Farringdon thanks to the interchange with the Circle/Metropolitan/H&C line and soon Crossrail but it's hard to see why you really need City Thameslink.

Edited August 13, 2017 by jjb1970

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Was it a replacement for Holborn Viaduct?

[philip-griffiths]

It is not National Rail metals, but the distance between Clipperstown and Carrickfergus is 30 chains approximately I think. It costs £1.60 and takes a minute.

[TheSignalEngineer]

Manchester Deansgate to Manchester Oxford Road isn't far. Neither is going from Oxford Road to Piccadilly. 

 

 

Oxford Road to Deansgate is 28 chains, about half of Oxford Road to Piccadilly.

Station chainages were usually measured at the centre of the station. If we go to distance between the station ends then Deansgate to Oxford Road is about 18 chains.

[Mark Saunders]

Allens West to Eaglescliffe.

[Ronnie MB]

I had been going to offer King's Park to Croftfoot in Glasgow, but it's positively epic at 56 ch!

[Southernman46]

Was it a replacement for Holborn Viaduct?

City Thameslink was hyped as a sort of "having a station in the basement" for the offices to be built on the land released by the project

[DY444]

Am I right in saying that the rear of the train has not yet cleared Old Street when the front arrives in Moorgate? I'm sure its one pair of stations on the NOrthern City line...

 

As the distance from Old St to Moorgate is just under half a mile then the answer is "No".  Highbuy & Islington to Drayton Park is the shortest but that is still over 700 yards

[Edge]

Not strictly on national rail, but aren't the first two stops on the Docklands light railway about five meters apart? The trains end one platform, cross a canal and then the next platform starts and its quite possible for people standing on two different train stations to have a conversation without shouting

[F-UnitMad]

Mornington Crescent!!!!

 

 

Sorry, wrong thread....

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Rule 455 subsection 3 (as updated) states that there can be no direct substitution for National Rail by Transport for London. So sorry,

but your challenge is disallowed.

[Fenman]

That one always amuses me. I'm not even sure why City Thameslink exists given Farringdon is a very short walk North and Blackfriars platforms virtually butt onto City Thameslink. The station spacing on that section of Thameslink seems a bit silly. Farringdon serves a much bigger purpose than just being a stop for Farringdon thanks to the interchange with the Circle/Metropolitan/H&C line and soon Crossrail but it's hard to see why you really need City Thameslink.

 

Isn't it more about spreading the loads of boarding / alighting commuters?

 

If you took away one of the stations, double the number of people would be trying to get on / off the same train at one station. That would make for a much less comfortable experience on what are already pretty crowded platforms / escalators.

 

Paul

[TomJ]

Not national rail and not perhaps the shortest but I believe that the most common single fare (as opposed to oyster/travelcard/contactless etc) on London Underground, at £4.90, is Covent Garden to Leicester Square. Presumably brought by tourists who don't realise it's only a couple of hundred yards and far quicker (and probably shorter) to walk than get the tube

[phil_sutters]

Not strictly on national rail, but aren't the first two stops on the Docklands light railway about five meters apart? The trains end one platform, cross a canal and then the next platform starts and its quite possible for people standing on two different train stations to have a conversation without shouting

It's at the centre of the system, between Canary Wharf and West India Quay. This photo taken from the platform at WIQ shows that it's hardly more than a train's length. The distance to Heron Quays on the other side of Canary Wharf could be even shorter. 

Edited August 14, 2017 by phil_sutters

[phil_sutters]

Not national rail and not perhaps the shortest but I believe that the most common single fare (as opposed to oyster/travelcard/contactless etc) on London Underground, at £4.90, is Covent Garden to Leicester Square. Presumably brought by tourists who don't realise it's only a couple of hundred yards and far quicker (and probably shorter) to walk than get the tube

People often seem to discount the amount of walking you need to do between the tube train entrance and the platforms. In some places you seem to be walking miles and as Network rail's retail parks - oh sorry stations get bigger and bigger, with longer platforms, rail travel requires an increasing level of fitness and that's even without considering the railway companies' expectation that passengers should regard standing on trains as an acceptable mode of travel.