28 February 2026John BrayWest MidlandsAlex MannersThe end of the line for Alex, Max, Ben and Luke after their 12-hour journeyA group of friends set themselves a challenge of visiting 70 West Midlands railway stations in 12 hours - and were left "absolutely buzzing" after achieving their goal.Alex Manners and his friends Luke, Ben and Max set off on their marathon trip from Earlswood near Solihull shortly after 08:00 GMT last Saturday and finished at Coventry Arena at 20:00."We knew people had done something similar on the London Underground," said Manners, who, like his friends, is autistic and works with train companies to make travelling more accessible. A TikTok post sharing the group's task has now been viewed about 100,000 times, and demonstrated, Manners said, "what an achievement this was" for them."It's Ben who is obsessed with trains, but I was absolutely buzzing for the whole day," he said, explaining how his friend had put together a schedule."It was one of the most exciting days I've ever had in the UK and now I feel like a train buff."Alex MannersThe group photographed and filmed their journey and plan to make a film of their day to post on YouTube "I want to promote the challenges and positives of autism, show what an achievement this was and also to show what people with autism can do when they put their mind to it and how brilliantly autistic people can work together." Alex MannersAlex MannersOne of the day's highlights was a journey on the shuttle service from Stourbridge Junction to Stourbridge TownOne of the furthest points north on the trip was a stop at Wolverhampton, a station served by Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, Transport for Wales and West Midlands Trains servicesSee alsoRelated internet links