With all the talk of XC timetable reform, has there ever been any serious discussion (by those in the industry and government, not on forums like this which count for nothing) about eliminating some stops on CrossCountry services to make them more genuine expresses, and then extending the local service to pick up the calls that have been dropped?
My first such recommendation would be to eliminate Stockport and Macclesfield calls from XC and VTWC services and putting on a new 2tph semi-fast Northern service from Piccadilly to Stoke to pick up the slack. It's frustrating when you're on a 4 coach voyager our of Piccadilly and passengers heading to Reading are having to stand due to Macclesfield commuters taking all the seats.
Discuss (nicely please).
Actual developments appear to be at odds with your suggestion, given that Macclesfield will be receiving twice the number of calls from Crosscountry services starting from next month. Even I can't understand the reasoning behind that; IMO the current arrangement of half the London services (via that route) and half the Crosscountry services calling, giving an hourly frequency of each plus an hourly local service is pretty much ideal.
One of the main benefits of long distance services calling at Macclesfield is to provide direct services to points south towards London, Birmingham and beyond, but it must also be recognised that, at present, the long distance services represent a significant proportion of the capacity between Manchester and Macclesfield (This will reduce to an extent from May with the introduction of Northern's second hourly local service): The only real shortcoming is that the Crosscountry trains are too short for the services they provide, a situation mirrored the country over and certainly not unique to the Manchester - Macclesfield flow (See also similar criticisms levelled at Milton Keynes commuters taking up seats out of Euston, and Reading commuters out of Paddington, even on lengthy inter-city trains).
I also see no reason why a significant market town that is something of a focal point for the surrounding area, with a population comparable to Banbury or Durham to take two random examples, should lose it's twenty-odd minute fast direct link to the nearest major city and centre of economic activity.
As for Stockport, it's a major interchange hub for a large surrounding area and it's a boon that it is served so comprehensively by everything that passes through.