Perhaps one idea could be to bring back some of the peak additionals (e.g. the 1739 and 1748 mainline departures out of Waterloo) and run them Tues-Thurs or possibly Mon-Thurs only. Then on Friday, redeploy the stock to provide extra capacity for "weekend away" travel (e.g. more capacity towards Dorset in the case of the South Western).
Looking at Southeastern's CWN they do seem to have variable stock formations depending on day of week, with some peak trains longer Tues-Thurs than Mon or Fri. Generally, Southeastern seem to be one of the more "progressive" TOCs at the moment with a range of June improvements coming suggesting they are responding to the uptick in numbers, including some completely new peak additionals (half hourly frequency Charing Cross to Maidstone East in the peak, for example).
Further back still I get the impression there were more post-9am starts and the morning rush hour was later. For example the peak services from Haslemere to Waterloo in the 1982-1985 period were every 10 mins from 0715 to 0825, arrival times in Waterloo approx. 0805 to 0925. The "prime" commuter service appeared to be the 0756, due around 0850, and there was just one non-overtaken service before 0715, the 0627. (There was also the 0705 overtaken stopping service).
This would suggest later starts in the 80s , does this sound correct?
Contrast that to the 2019 timetable which shows as many as 6 non-overtaken services from Haslemere to Waterloo before 0700 and three (!) between 0700 and 0715, but less departures after 0740 than in the 80s: just two between 0740 and 0830 compared to five in the 80s. Furthermore, all 5 of these services in 1982 (to pick one year where I have a CWN) were 10- or 12-car. Seems to indicate that the morning peak shifted earlier between the mid-80s and 2019.
