Train fan travels 18 hours to see 'unique' shuttle

A train enthusiast has made an 18-hour round trip from Scotland to spend six minutes on a shuttle that is thought to be Europe's shortest branch line.

The Stourbridge Shuttle carries people between Stourbridge Junction station and the West Midlands town, travelling for three minutes and covering less than a mile each way.

“I’m certainly glad I did it because it is unique,” said Neil Hughes, 62.

Mr Hughes took two flights and two trains to reach the shuttle from his home in Troon on Scotland’s west coast.

“I’d been wanting to do it for a number of years and I finally got my chance,” said Mr Hughes, a retired air traffic controller.

“I like oddities and strange things - I’ll travel places to go up funicular railways and things like that."

He added that the shuttle was special not only because of the short journey, but also because it was powered by flywheel technology that was unusual in these types of vehicles.

The Stourbridge Shuttle's route, at 0.8 miles long, is the shortest branch line in Britain and is also thought to be the shortest in Europe, according to Network Rail.

A branch line is secondary railway line that usually comes off from a larger main line.

It was originally built in 1879 to connect Stourbridge’s canal basin and the mainline rail network at Stourbridge Junction.

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