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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Simon Calder

Solved: some of the endless mysteries of the railways

Gatwick Express Southern Gatwick London
How can an Avanti West Coast express lose 30 minutes behind a broken-down freight train yet still reach London Euston early? - (Avanti West Coast)

The Gatwick Express takes people to and from the UK’s second-busiest airport, doesn’t it? Surely if a passenger express gets stuck behind a broken-down freight train for over half an hour, it will be late?

And why would a ticket from A to C ever cost more than the sum of A to B and B to C? These are some of the many mysteries of the world’s maddest railway.

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