Unreliable, uncomfortable and dirty - sums Thameslink up pretty concisely.
I think we all know you have a beef about the future, expanded Thameslink not suiting your personal circumstances.
But:
1) the service is not unreliable, indeed it is now as good as I can remember it. It will be interesting to see how the 700s cope with Autumn, but I suspect they will do well.
2) Comfort is of course a subjective matter, subject to opinion, and covers many areas. On balance, I am finding the Thameslink service of today more comfortable than that of the previous 13 years of commuting. There are more seats at peak time (if not on every service), a lot more space on the train, and (in my opinion) the seats are better than the 319s, and not that much different to the 377s. Rarely now am I on a train which is crush loaded to the extent you cannot extra your phone from your pocket. Best of all, I can now get on pretty much the first train that arrives, rather than having to let one or two go.
3) 'Dirty' is a function of what passengers leave behind, and the cleaning regime. Given that it is the same operator, it would be reasonable to assume that the cleaning principles are the same on the GN and TL. Not much you can do about the passengers. However I will say that if you asked me which were the dirtiest services operated by GTR north of the river, I would say the Moorgates every time. I have also been on some very mucky 365s, albeit almost always heading north out of KX around 0800. In general, I find the 700s are generally clean, particularly in the morning. You do tend to take your life into your own hands if you board one ex the loop late on a Friday, but that's not something the GN side will have to worry about.
A prediction now - those who are against the TL concept will continue to moan, and when the service is in full swing will be quick to pounce on the very first delay in the TL core that delays the GN, or the first 700 that can't open its doors at Foxton, or the congestion at St Pancras during a major incident. However the same people will perhaps not be so forthcoming about the doubling of capacity to much of the GN (which will fill up, quickly), nor the vastly improved connectivity which those of us on the MML side take for granted, nor the much improved capacity within central London that helps the whole region. And I bet some of them will quite like getting a direct train to Gatwick, even if there is nowhere to put their espresso.
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