At what point do we stop squeezing passenger comfort and instead start paying out for longer platforms, more cross-rail and more flexible hours of work.
The answer is probably down the line 25 odd years when all seats have been changed to longitudinal on the 700s causing people to sit on a tube train from the likes of Brighton and Bedford etc and yet trains are still full and standing from 2 stops in. Wait no silly me, they'll introduce standing only carriges first, THEN we will maybe look at other options.(I understand it's not so simple)
I do feel that including the Sutton loop in the Thameslink route is a waste of capacity - that is running 8-car trains through a congested core that can handle 50% longer (12-car) trains.
Agreed, maybe it's ok as a gap fill but in the long run it would be nice to see a 30tph core with a succession of 12 car trains, one day...
Journey times on the Sutton loop are just so slow because of all the junctions it crosses it just isn't the most appealing service unless you can walk to work from one of the Thameslink core stations, otherwise Southern, SWR and the northern line take most of its patronage away.
On another note, a lot of people seem to be talking about poor climate control on the 700s but the last dozen or so 700 journeys I've had have been fine, seats are softening also or at least they're softer than GWRs 387s (not southerns 377s though)