It’s fascinating to compare average speeds for some of the big longer-distance commuter flows to and from London, together with cost in terms of pence per mile, based on use of a weekly season ticket for 10 journeys. The table below shows speeds for the fastest evening peak journey for a range of towns. The data is taken from Network Rail’s online version of the old public timetable, and there may be some errors, but I think it gives a good general indication.
Top of the league are the West and East Coast routes, which have benefited from years of progressive investment to reduce long-distance journey times, in contrast to services south of the Thames, where in many cases speeds have not significantly increased for 50 years or more.
The HS1 domestic service to Ashford is the clear exception, although it doesn’t quite match the two premier inter-city routes, despite operation on a dedicated high-speed line, as all trains stop at Stratford International. However, HS1 services to the Medway towns might well be considered a rip-off. Chatham’s HS1 services only manage 54.3mph, but, because there is a premium for use of the ‘high speed’ service, it also has by some margin the most expensive fares in terms …
