Like Crossrail, Thameslink could benefit from a haircut. It would be advantageous if the route was cut back and possibly transferred to London Overground. North of London, it should not run much north of, say, St Alban's or Welwyn Garden City. Suitable destinations south of London would be Wimbledon, Bromley South, Caterham and Tattenham Corner.
Procurement of new trains for Thameslink has been problematic due to the number of conflicting requirements that must be satisfied for a route that is a long-distance service that also carries crush-loaded traffic through the centre of London. Instead of procuring a fleet of trains to an entirely new design, a further build of the Bombardier class 378 would do very nicely for such a cut-back service. If the cash is really running out, a refreshment of the class 313 fleet would suffice.
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The route HAS to serve Bedford, there isnt enough capacity at StP, so you need these trains through the core - using different and incompatible fleets is not practical, especially if ATO still goes ahead. Its not ideal, but if you are going to do Thameslink then you have to do it properly or it will produce very little benefit for such a large investment.
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