bramling
Veteran Member
It might be dead in the short term but we've not had the chance to see how it runs when it has the intended number of drivers. The issues were always about delays and how it messes up everything, for other more unexpected and unpredictable reasons.
I suppose the closest we have is a 9xxx train blocking everything at FPK and forcing trains to reverse and losing 20-30 minutes with all the residual delays that brings with it.
Nothing happening now is proof of the timetable being a mistake in itself. It's the fact it wasn't delayed that has caused the problems.
I understand the point, however there are some things which have shown up, in particular that late running increases very heavily with this timetable, and that delays from the southern can and will transmit through the core. We’ve also seen very clearly how delays will very badly hit certain stations - Arlesey and Sandy are the most-quoted examples, but they aren’t by any means the only ones. Likewise how the residual GN services are a bedrock of stability in the dreamworld that is Thameslink. Why would GN users want to risk rerunning this timetable when they’ve seen all this? Why should we trust the people who specified, designed, planned and implemented this failed change programme with their failed “it will work” attitude to try again?