Sorry I hate this timetable. Why is Blackwater not getting 3 tph when it has a higher passenger usage than Dorking Deepdeen and Dorking West combined? I know the usage was declining but that's probably driven by the fact you can hardly get on the train when its busy so commuters switch to Camberley a few miles away
The fares from Blackwater to Guildford vs Camberley to Guildford (and journey times) are such that going from Blackwater to Guildford is a much more attractive option. London is obviously easier from Camberley.
In terms of why Blackwater and North Camp only get 2tph, the relevant points are:
* The timetable is resource led to use 9 units. By running fast from Guildford to Wokingham, the unit that does a stopper on one cycle can do a Gatwick on the other and still come within 6 hours for two trips.
* This isn't a reduction in service at Blackwater and North Camp. They just aren't benefitting from a third service.
* The path from Guildford to Gatwick and back is pretty much fixed by the Thameslink timetable so the train may as well stop at Dorking Deepdene else it would arrive early at Reigate / Shalford Junction
On the negative side, it does mean that the trains from Blackwater and North Camp aren't as well spaced as they are at the moment.
The timetable is not at all perfect in my mind and the morning peak towards Reading (even once they put missing trains in) won't be as well balanced as it was up until 2006.
Also need I mention cross country services and 3tph finally offering XC a sensible route to Gatwick and Brighton. Although I personally believe a curve to bypass Redhill has long been overdue
Too slow and a performance risk to the rest of the network.
Yes, it might be great to put Cross Country trains into the timetable but that isn't where anyone's priority lies. There wouldn't now be the room for them south of Gatwick that there was until 2007 (and in particular in summer of 2002 when there was the embryo of a very good service). Having a self-contained reliable connecting service between Reading, Guildford, Redhill and Gatwick to allow interchange between long-distance services and the south coast is pretty much the only option that works with the constraints of the line. A curve at Redhill is not on the agenda either.