David Jones set out on the mammoth challenge on February 19 and averaged around 62.5 stations a day, travelling across the UK to the smallest and biggest stations on the landmass
A railway mega fan has travelled to almost every train station in the UK – in just six weeks.
David Jones, 34, spent a whopping 441 hours and covered 9,846 miles traipsing to more than 2,500 stations in “the UK’s longest commute” to raise money for charity. After completing his grand tour today on Sunday at Inverness Station in Scotland, he said: “I feel a sense of achievement for what I have done. “I feel overwhelmed by the support going into the final days. Smashing the money target is just fantastic.”
David set out on the mammoth challenge on February 19 and averaged around 62.5 stations a day. He planned to travel by train to every station and snapped a picture of its sign as he went. From sleeper trains to small coastal stations, he spent five months strategically planning his route through the UK.
After spending 10.5 hours a day sitting on trains, David would recharge at hotels or occasionally snooze through the night on sleeper trains. As well as the stations of suburbia and Britain’s 86 counties, David’s trip took him to the Isle of Wight and the Island Line’s eight stations.
In total, he visited 2,542 of the 2,580 stations in the UK after flooded stations prevented him from visiting some stops along the way.
He said: “I’ve always loved the railways. The practicality of having a train set to play with as a kid and then realising there’s a real world of them out there. It took me about five months to plan.
“I had a look at the map and thought about where I could go from Three Bridges and then slowly started working my way around Britain. I went west first and tried to work a plan as best as I could to not over stress myself.”
David set off from the Three Bridges station, home to the Sussex Rail Operating Centre where he works as a control room train services manager for Govia Thameslink Railway. He was able to cut the cost of his travel thanks to his background in the rail industry.
David took on the challenge to raise cash for Great Ormond Street Hospital and the Children’s Intensive Care Unit at Oslo’s University Hospital, where a friend was treated. The Blyth, Northumberland man raised £2,460 which will be divided between the charities.
He added: “It was probably about September last year I decided to do it. My friend had fallen ill in Norway and they decided to do a 1000-mile bike ride from Bedfordshire to Oslo but I didn’t face riding the bike so being a train geek I decided to do this.
“She was hit by a football and it ruptured her spine – a complete freak accident.”
Under David’s set rules, trains had to stop at every single station, not just pass through them. He added: “The one thing I’ve been grateful of is that I was able to contact a lot of the train operating companies and it allowed me to cut down the travel costs quite a bit.
“The only bit I had to shell out on was accommodation which wasn’t too bad.”
Amazingly, he managed to visit an average of 62.5 stations each day, with some days seeing him visit over 100 stations, particularly in Birmingham.
However, in more remote areas like mid-Wales, he could only manage aboiut 35 stations due to the greater distances between them. To make the most of his time, David took two sleeper trains from London to Glasgow and back, allowing him to catch up on sleep while travelling.
His favourite station was St Ives in Cornwall, which he praised for its stunning views. Despite the challenges of ensuring he was on time for each train, David described the adventure as a “once in a lifetime” experience.
He had to miss three stations due to landslides in Workington, Cumbria, but remained determined to complete his mission. David said: “It was just about getting out and seeing places I’ve not seen before – to highlight that you can go by rail and visit fantastic places.”
“Doing this once-in-a-lifetime kind of a trip, it means if there’s places I want to see in the future I’ve got a little black book that I can refer to. “The hardest bit was the commuter times and making sure I didn’t miss trains that I needed.”
“It was tough on my own. There are times when I could have done with a chinwag. Some people were curious about the GoPro and asked me about what I was doing and I had some nice conversations about it which was great.”
To support Dave’s fundraising efforts, visit his Gofundme page.
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