On 11 Apr, 10:53, Boltar wrote:
On Apr 11, 10:22 am, Mwmbwls wrote:

With the transfer of the Thameslink Sutton Loop services to other
south eastern destinations - and their termination at Blackfriars will
these service continue to be part of the Thameslink franchise or would

I never understood why it was part of it in the first place.
Thameslink was supposed to be a north to south express route. Not a
north to obscure-suburb-in-sw-london local train. I mean why Sutton?
Why not Wandsworth or Dulwich or Chessington or ..... If anyone
suggested the northbound thameslink had a terminus at Barnet everyone
would laugh, but for some reason if its in south london no ones bats
an eyelid.

B2003

It's become an express route now, but at the time I think it was
envisaged to be away of avoiding turning round suburban services at
termini.

Note how originally there was no first class in the 319/0s, and it
only came in with the later, smaller fleet of 319/1s. Now the smaller
fleet of 319/1s has become the "Metro" 319/3s and the 319/0s have
mostly become the "Cityflier" 319/4s with first class put in.

Thamselink directly replaced the local services from St Pancras and
the services that had been running from Holborn Viaduct, which at
various times included services to Wimbledon and Sutton.

So I guess the reason for it was purely because services used to go
that way from Holborn Viaduct.