Random 15 Championship 2025/26: Round 4

[tangy]

**This event will also double up as Event 5 of Tube Olympics 2026. Therefore as well as the normal Random 15 points scoring, Tube Olympic medals will also be awarded to the podium positions.**

Welcome to the Random 15 Championship. I am your host (commonly known to regulars as the BERC when I am hosting Random 15 challenges). The Random 15 challenge is just that, visit 15 randomly selected stations that feature on the Tube Map (usually within zones 1-2 and using the Underground network only). There will be certain rounds within the championship that are a variation of this such as adding an extra zone or network e.g. DLR onto the challenge. So are you ready to take on the Random 15 championship?

The rules and scoring are unchanged from previous seasons but if anyone is not familiar with them, or needs a refresh, you can view them here: http://www.explorerticket.co.uk/tubecha ... 5rules.htm

Round 4 is approaching, so here are the details

When: Saturday 21st February 2026 12:30 UK local time.
Variant: Normal round but with live bucket draw.
Meet up: Putney Bridge, meet on the street side of the ticket barriers.
Post challenge pub: The Blue Posts, Newman Street, Marylebone W1T 3EU.
Time limit to complete: 4 hours.

As this is the "live bucket draw" instead of envelopes to open, challengers will be invited to pick stations out of a bag / bucket immediately prior to the start of the challenge, these will then be the 15 you need to visit. Therefore challengers are requested to arrive in good time (minimum 10 minutes before) to enable the draw to take place and the prompt commencement of the challenge.

Closures affecting this challenge (correct at time of posting):
No planned closures on LU network except the usual Waterloo & City line. However, there may be potential disruption on the Piccadilly line due to a planned strike at Northfields depot.

Other engineering work to be aware of:
DLR: No service between Bank / Tower and Poplar / West India Quay.
Metropolitan: No service between Harrow-on-the-Hill and Watford / Amersham / Chesham.

Chiltern: No service between Marylebone and Aylesbury via Amersham.
East Coast: No long distance trains south of Peterborough / Cambridge. Reduced local services between Kings Cross and Potters Bar / Hertford North.
South Eastern: No trains through Dartford. Revised service patterns on Woolwich / Bexleyheath / Sidcup lines running as circulars.

Please respond if you are attending so I know roughly how many I am expecting.

Tangy, the BERC.

[Going Underground]

Attending
GU

[Lunaticonthegrass]

Attending
GU, Lotg

[Rhys1995]

Attending:
GU
LOTG
Rhys1995

[Oggm]

Attending:
GU
LOTG
Rhys1995
Oggm

[JamesWright]

Attending:
GU
LOTG
Rhys1995
Oggm
JW

[Going Underground]

What is the ruling if Barons Court gets draw out ? I assume Westbound visit would be required

[miklcct]

Attending:
GU
LOTG
Rhys1995
Oggm
JW
Miklcct

[hopeful traveller]

Attending:
GU
LOTG
Rhys1995
Oggm
JW
Miklcct
hopeful traveller (maybe)

[Going Underground]

Attending:
GU // parkrun - Fulham Palace // Spoons - The Rocket
LOTG
Rhys1995
Oggm
JW
Miklcct
hopeful traveller (maybe)

[SnuzieZuzie]

Attending:
GU // parkrun - Fulham Palace // Spoons - The Rocket
LOTG
Rhys1995
Oggm
JW
Miklcct
hopeful traveller (maybe)
SnuzieZuzie

[ANDY_JS]

Attending.

[SnuzieZuzie]

It appears thanks to Tube Delays and truncation of bus routes I am running late. Hope to be there at half past, but with how travel so far has gone I am not hopeful.

[Oggm]

Quite an ugly draw of stations on first glance; however, I think I made a reasonable attempt to make the best of them.

Begun at 124005 at Putney Bridge with Tangy declaring "Olympia" as the final station to everyones delight. Passing through Parsons Green, I initially intended on tackling Olympia with a run from Holland Park, but after seeing a Southern service pull in and many others rush after it; I thought it would do no harm to join in with the rush. Up to Olympia, down to Earl's Court, across to Hammersmith by the Piccadilly (I initially planned for the District but the next train was in 5 mins). Ran to Hammersmith HandC without dying to any cyclists nor cars, but either way the train was just pulled away. Up to Wood Lane, run to White City, and through Holland Park up to Oxford Circus.

Double back from Oxford Circus to Regent's Park to Oxford Circus I thought was much safer than running to Warren Street; however, this did not pay off as there was a 5 min wait on the platform at Oxford Circus for the victoria line. Up to Finsbury Park after which a 7 min wait for Manor House ensued. Down again to Finsbury Park where I ran off for the #4 bus - a big gamble payed off as the bus just rolled in after I crossed the road. The bus took me to Tuffnel Park; down to Camden Town via Kentish Town. Just made the X branch service there to Embankment via Mornington Crescent and Charing X. East to Blackfriars; double back to Victoria via St. James's Park.

Down to Stockwell on a very slow train; up to London Bridge via Oval. Very tight change onto the Jubilee to Bermondsey and then onto Canary Wharf at 152859 with a time of 02:48.54. Quite bad luck at the start, but I guess it hit almost everybody - decent connections till the end; and for some reason I was almost never alone. A draw of stations I initially called "terrible" ended up being pretty decent.

[JamesWright]

I got on the first eastbound train at Putney Bridge with everyone else but it didn't take long for the field to disperse. I changed at Earl's Court to the westbound District platform with Tangy, Rhys B, and Zuzanna, where we had a 5 minute wait for the next service towards Hammersmith. Tangy and Rhys got ahead of me by forcing their way across the road through the crawling traffic while I waited for the lights to change. By the time I got to the H&C station there was no sign of either of them, and it was a 9 minute wait for the next train.

I ran from Goldhawk Road to Shepherd's Bush for one stop on the Central to Holland Park. I didn't want to wait 4 minutes for the double-back so I exited the station and ran directly to Olympia, arriving at 13:30. The TFL website suggested the next departure was at 13:32 but that turned out to be the next arrival, and I had to wait for that to depart per the timetable at 13:44 - a total of 30 minutes waiting so far, so I was sure I would finish far down the leaderboard. I changed at Earl's Court for a train that took me all the way to Cannon Street where I changed to the Northern line at Bank.

I changed to the Jubilee at London Bridge, went to Canary Wharf and retraced my steps to take the Northern down to Oval, doubled back up to Elephant & Castle, where I got a nice 1 minute connection onto the Bakerloo. I rode that through to Regent's Park and then ran to Warren Street for the Northern line. The platform describer here was showing completely wrong information and I had to wait 4 minutes for the next service. Aside from the three big waits in the first part of the challenge, my longest waits were all on the Northern line today.

That train took me through Mornington Crescent to Kentish Town, where I bumped into Andrew C on the southbound platform. I was surprised to be with a strong competitor after my poor form earlier, and I was doubly surprised when he didn't join me in exiting at King's Cross to head up towards my final station. I seemed to have just missed a Piccadilly service so I took the Victoria to Finsbury Park and caught it there instead to finish at Manor House in the time of 02:53:23.