It's time once again to go on a pointlessly challenging train journey.
How many zone 1 stations can you travel through without repeating any?
That's the question. We're looking for the longest zone 1 journey with no repeated stations.
And there are 72 zone 1 stations altogether, so it's going to be a long journey.
It's perhaps best to think of the question as "which stations do you miss out?"
You can already see that Hoxton and Shoreditch High Street aren't going to be included because they're entirely isolated.
Also Tower Gateway and Fenchurch Street aren't going to work. Also you can only do Aldgate or Aldgate East, not both.
Also Pimlico/Vauxhall and Battersea Power Station/Nine Elms are very much dead ends, so you can't do those unless you start or end there. "unless you start or end there" is going to be quite important in what follows, so every time it comes up I'll replace it with an asterisk.
A few rules. Once you've been through a station you can't come back to it. Interchange can only take place at stations, walking between them is not allowed. Bank and Monument are different stations, as are Moorgate and Liverpool Street, as are the two Edgware Roads. In fact the Edgware Road thing doesn't matter because it's impossible to visit both of them*.
What's important strategically, it turns out, is stations that are only on one line. What's even more important is when three or more of these branch off from the same interchange. For example Holborn connects to Russell Square, Chancery Lane and Covent Garden but your route can only connect two of these*. Similarly at Notting Hill Gate you can't do all three of High Street Kensington, Bayswater and Queensway*, one has to be sacrificed.
I had a go at doing it and managed to visit 59 zone 1 stations. It took three and a half hours.
There's more than one way to do it, but I picked a route which ended in a newsworthy place so that my final photo would be interesting. And I started at Battersea Power Station for the aforementioned dead end reason. Deep breath.
Battersea Power Station: It's not ridiculously busy if you visit on a Sunday before all the shops open. 00:00Northern Thankfully I wanted the Charing Cross branch. Waterloo: First of the long interconnecting hikes. 00:09Bakerloo Fabulous, a forward-facing seat in a carriage all to myself. Elephant & Castle: Had to dodge past a slow pushchair on the stairs. 00:18Northern Rather a lot of Arsenal supporters on this train. London Bridge: Happy 25th birthday (today!) to the Jubilee line platforms which opened here on 7th October 1999. 00:25Jubilee ...although this journey wasn't possible until 20th November. Southwark: I'm the only person who turns right at the top of the escalators. Waterloo East: The two staff supervising the intermediate barriers - one tube, one rail - look very bored. 00:35Southeastern Managed to grab a seat after everyone from Strood had piled out. Charing Cross: In via the rail terminus, out via the tube. 00:47Northern One of the tube's shortest journeys so it would've been hugely quicker to walk. Embankment: They're still making that stupid platform announcement about taking off hats and scarves. 00:52District The number of Chelsea fans now exceeds the number of Arsenal fans. Victoria: Also a strong showing for purple-shirted NFL fans heading to Tottenham. 00:59Victoria That's the first hour done, with 15 stations visited.
Green Park: It's such a long twisty slog between platforms, almost hatefully so. 01:08Piccadilly Grrrr to the man with the rucksack and binbag who squeezed aboard at the last minute. Earl's Court: Maximum Chelsea density on the platforms here. 01:26District It took a while for an Edgware Road train to arrive. Notting Hill Gate: I unexpectedly found myself waiting alongside a vicar with a bagful of vestments. 01:35Central I decided to sacrifice Bayswater to get the three stations between here and Bond Street. Bond Street: These interconnecting Crossrail passageways are ridiculously long. 01:48Crossrail I initially expected to be riding a lot of purple trains but no, just the one. Paddington: For this challenge I'm counting Paddington as one tube station. It doesn't help to make it two. 01:53Bakerloo Obviously you go to Baker Street via Marylebone because that's one extra station. Baker Street: That's the second hour done, with 31 stations visited.
02:02Hammersmith & City I decided to sacrifice Regent's Park, although I could have gone that way and ended up somewhere different. King's Cross St Pancras: Managed to nip past a bloke with a guitar before he obstructed the escalator. 02:14Northern Squeezed in beside a young lad carrying a bouquet of tulips. Moorgate: Importantly I'm not using Crossrail so Moorgate is entirely distinct from Liverpool Street. 02:24Metropolitan Any of three lines would have done but this turned up first. Farringdon: Still not using Crossrail so Farringdon is entirely distinct from Barbican. 02:29Thameslink City Thameslink station is closed on Sundays but I passed through so I'm totally claiming it. Blackfriars: This interchange took five minutes because I alighted on the wrong side of the river. 02:43Circle The longest of all my tube journeys, curling lengthily through the City. Liverpool Street: That's the third hour done, with 47 stations visited.
03:00Central I didn't get a chance to sit down because Sundays are no longer quiet. Holborn: Chuffed to discover I still remember precisely where to be to alight opposite the platform exit. 03:09Piccadilly I didn't get a chance to sit down because Sundays are madness. Piccadilly Circus: Now mopping up the big name stations in the heart of the West End. 03:16Bakerloo A quick zip under Regent Street. Oxford Circus: It's never quick switching to the Central line here. 03:24Central We spent longer waiting at a red signal than travelling between stations. Tottenham Court Road: Ha, once again I was at the right end of the train for a swift exit. 03:28Northern My twenty-third train was my last, bringing the zone 1 challenge to a close. Euston: Oh that looks a lot better with the blazing giant advertising screen switched off.
Altogether I managed to visit 59 zone 1 stations in 3 hours 31 minutes without passing through any more than once.
It's probably easiest if I list all the zone 1 stations I didn't visit.
Didn't visit Impossible: Hoxton, Shoreditch High Street, Tower Gateway, Fenchurch Street Dead ends: Pimlico, Vauxhall Bypassed: Aldgate East, Edgware Road (District & Circle) Chose to ignore: Bayswater, Regent's Park, Russell Square, Sloane Square, Temple
I don't think 59 can be beaten although, as I said, there are other ways to do it.
Further stats
» I used all ten tube lines that were running yesterday and also three rail services.
» I spent 45% of my time on trains, 27% interchanging and 27% waiting on platforms.
» My average wait was 2 minutes.
» I walked 2½ miles (or 6500 steps).
» My phone says I climbed the equivalent of 45 flights of stairs.
As usual you have no need to do any of this, indeed I had no need to do any of it either. But I do now know how well zone 1 stations are connected, which is very well, even if you can't quite visit all of them.
