Two St Pancras Platforms

[yorksrob]

Yes, modern trains are more reliable. And the spec for the new Thameslink fleet is demanding in this respect.

'Making sure' is a fine idea - but not when it comes to ignoring the price tag and what is practicable and sensible.

I suppose the other problem is that however reliable the new trains are, they will be coming from and going to traditional areas of the network with a variety trains and service patterns. This will inevitably lead to delays and trains turning up in the central section at the wrong time. Perhaps if they'd had a marginally wider box with one of the wide side platforms built as an island, the central platform could have been designed as a reversible loop available to trains from the north or south. This might have given a large degree of additional flexibility whilst keeping the additional cost down.