A train in the UK from A to B without forcing people to go through London, and potentially forcing them to use some stretches of the tube to get from a station of Service X to a station from Service Y? Unheard of! Revolutionary!

https://web.archive.org/web/20260502092446/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/may/02/east-west-rail-oxford-milton-keynes-chiltern-railways-delays#img-1

Short UK line. Milton Keynes to Oxford. Built but no services.