London to Shrewsbury OK via Stoke?

"Stephen Hughes" <news@39steps.org.uk> wrote in message
news:LHL9b.1254$DM5.11147@newsfep4-glfd.server.ntli.net...
> Seemingly due to various engineering work, the National Rail website is
> offering mainly journeys via Stoke for London to Shrewsbury on 28/09. This
> is a bit of an oddity, can anyone comment if it is a valid route? My
sister
> (who is doing the journey) will probably have a Saver if that makes any
> difference. For some reason the few via Birmingham journeys it gives take
4
> hours...

Mapped routes are LM, CS, GC+LM, and BD+LM.

CS is no good as there's a pinch point and you'd have to double back
Stafford to Wolverhampton.

LM in theory permits you Euston to Stoke direct (i.e. via the Trent Valley
and Colwich, avoiding Stafford), then Crewe (via Alsager) - Stafford -
Wolverhampton - Shrewsbury.

GC + LM is Chiltern to Birmingham or Coventry, then Rugby and up the Trent
Valley line and as above. This route can't be made to work by going north
from Birmingham.

BD+LM is Euston to Stoke (direct or via Birmingham), then Crewe and
Shrewsbury direct. This is clearly what they have in mind. And (unlike some
of the above) it's clearly intended to be a non-ridiculous route, since the
most southerly interface between the two maps is Stoke.

HTH

Jonathan

"Jonathan Morton" <jonathan@removethisjonathanmorton.co.uk> wrote in message
news:bk82hj$2a8$1@titan....

> BD+LM is Euston to Stoke (direct or via Birmingham), then Crewe and
> Shrewsbury direct. This is clearly what they have in mind. And (unlike
some
> of the above) it's clearly intended to be a non-ridiculous route, since
the
> most southerly interface between the two maps is Stoke.

Actually it's just dawned on me that a much more normal use of this map
combination would be Euston to Crewe direct, and change at Crewe for
Shrewsbury. The day of your journey is the first day of the new timetable,
and Colwich to Crewe direct is likely to be out of action in whole or part -
hence the route via Stoke. Curiously, on that day you don't seem to be able
to get a train from Euston to Crewe via Stoke and thus change only at Crewe.
Judging by the timetable, that weekend looks like one for the true
masochistic traveller only, I fear.

Jonathan