Trying to answer all points here:
- The 2022 Timetable will see the Maidstone East service (Southeastern replacement for Thameslink) still run even on Sundays; but on Sunday it runs via the Chislehurst loops and Grove Park to London Bridge and then Cannon Street or Charing Cross at bidder discretion. This is every 30 minutes.
Sounds reasonable although the Thameslink plan was of course for it to run 24/7 via Chislehurst and onto London Bridge and Blackfriars. Wonder if the Maidstone crowd would be okay with London Bridge no long being served M-F.
- During the Monday to Saturday period, however, it will operate via Catford (which therefore only has to accommodate a fast path every 30 minutes during off-peak, which is perfectly adequate) to Blackfriars.
If it replaces the Gillingham train pathing via the Catford loop then it is indeed fine; if its additional that's another matter.
- Once Thameslink have sorted themselves out and got the Welwyn to Sevenoaks running, that means Southeastern effectively have free use of the two bay platforms. A half-hourly Maidstone, half-hourly Beckenham additional Metro service and I strongly suspect a half-hourly Blackfriars to Medway are likely. I don’t see the peak Medway extras being from Victoria but I would like to be surprised.
The original intention was always for the Sutton services to go into the bays to prevent the crossover outside Blackfriars but the locals kicked up a fuss about that. This whole plan is reliant on Thameslink evacuating the bays of course, so this is all null and void if it never happens, but I suspect in the next 12 months we should see how close to reality that is. An additional metro to the bay in Beckenham or Bromley South will cause some capacity problems at Herne Hill so I can't imagine that works even on paper.
- Victoria to Lewisham will be half-hourly from May 2022, all day. Half-hourly to Hayes and at least Crayford via Sidcup each. So Victoria to Denmark Hill will be very reasonably satisfied. So will Denmark Hill and Peckham to Lewisham.
Why would they bin the via Blackheath and go via Sidcup instead? Is it for Lewisham conflict purposes? And I presume you are talking about off-peak here?
- I do not suspect the peak services from Victoria / Blackfriars to Medway will stop at anything other than Denmark Hill (maybe Elephant if using Blackfriars); but the Blackfriars to Maidstone I suspect will be Elephant and Denmark Hill all day. Two major reasons: one, the draw on Hospitals and interchange to LO; two, the fact that not-stopping simply adds a few minutes of recovery time and the same passing time at Shortlands as you’ll catch an Orpington / Sevenoaks anyway.
Yes probably one or the other although Southeastern have lots of oddities in their peak timetable so we shouldn't assume anything.
Hayes will have 6tph at peak. 2tph Victoria, 4tph Charing Cross. All Charing Cross peak services are fast to/from Ladywell. So only half-hourly at Lewisham, which is in my view a huge shame. Same for the Sidcup line. There will be in 2022 no Sidcup terminating services. All 10tph run at least to/from Crayford; and only the 2tph to Victoria run via Lewisham! The 4tph to both Cannon Street and Charing Cross are fast from Hither Green; although it is expected the Cannon Street services will stop at New Cross.
Again Southeastern run lots of peak oddities that do or don't skip Lewisham where they traditionally wouldn't or would. For example some Sevenoaks - Charing X services stop at Lewisham in the peak and don't off-peak running fast after Hither Green. Same with Hayes services. There aren't any Sidcup terminating services now, expect I think 2 in the peak.
I sincerely doubt there would be that much of a reduction in Lewisham services, especially at the peak. That being said its an exceedingly tight peak timetable around New Cross & Lewisham, so it could do with some reevaluation and whatever is decided it will likely reduce "all routes to all destinations" so will annoy people
Once again, I'm not entirely sure this is all set in stone with the turbulence in the rail sector at the moment and the interlink with Thameslink here and the declining importance of various long-since forgotten tender documents.