I think this is easily solved, if it’s allowed to be.
The Liverpool to Leeds trunk route via Lea Green, Victoria and Huddersfield (those stations only) should be half-hourly, and every hour it should extend to Newcastle (802s) and Hull (loco-hauled).
A half-hourly service from Piccadilly to York calling at Stalybridge, Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Leeds. Hourly extensions to Middlesbrough (or wherever it goes out Teesside) and Newcastle. No idea what your best motive power is there to be honest, based on what they have.
If you’re using 7 802s on a Liverpool - Newcastle circuit, you must have at least enough for another 6 to be used on a Piccadilly to Newcastle. Then you have 6 left to play with, assuming maintenance spares. You also only use 6 loco-hauled sets on the Liverpool to Hull, so you definitely have enough for 6 on the Piccadilly to Redcar with a maintenance spare.
But, and this is where it perhaps gets interesting, put the 802s and the 68s into a separate fleet and hand it all to CrossCountry, as a signal that it is a specific set of trains that run across the Pennines that are Intercity standard. You also don’t have much reason not to if you assume you already have XC drivers at Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Manchester.
You then sensibly use the leftover 802s (5 if you have one on maintenance) for a two-hourly stopping service between Newcastle and Glasgow, with service for those new stations up Berwick side. CrossCountry drivers already do Newcastle - Glasgow anyway. You then eliminate the Voyagers and any LNER services from doing Edinburgh to Glasgow.
Flight the stopping services right in behind the Piccadilly - Newcastle / Middlesbrough services, these would have come from Victoria bay platforms (which are on the right side of the track layout there) and then, at Huddersfield, extend one an hour to Leeds (you can regulate / hold these each way at Huddersfield) and one an hour to Scarborough via Castleford. Good diversionary route retention, restore the hourly Huddersfield to Castleford, and offer Castleford a through service to Manchester and York. The second stopping service an hour between Mirfield and Leeds is an existing service from Hebden Bridge way.
That way, you’ve achieved 6tph and have got a good level of service, including having the option of viable Liverpool - local stations (Mossley, Greenfield) connections.
Hull, rightly, gets a proper express service and Scarbados keeps its through service albeit changes needed for Leeds. Scarborough as a primarily leisure flow also doesn’t require a fast Manchester / Liverpool.
Fleet wise, not sure how best you deal with the Victoria to Leeds and Scarborough services but the 20 hybrid 195s looks like a good start.
Put the Cleethorpes and Nottingham to Liverpool via Sheffield, Stockport, Piccadilly and Warrington services into East Midlands, and use appropriate rolling stock (one assumes 170s). Also offer relevant Depot access for these at existing Bombardier facilities at Crofton, and under agreement at either Allerton or Edge Hill.
You’ve also then released 185s in their entirety from the region, allowing anybody to take them on hire.
East West, with depots like Northampton already doing Siemens, seems a very good bet for them. Especially when there’s enough for the extensions towards Bristol, or Reading, or towards Leicester, or Marylebone, or wherever else you like.
The 397s, if you assume the standardised operation of them based at Edge Hill and Polmadie, are transferred into Avanti and that makes complete sense. Avanti are then offering an hourly Manchester Airport to Glasgow (I would suggest that anyway), a two-hourly Liverpool to Glasgow, and can recast the Pendolino routes. Add to that, instead of using a random 802, they can ‘loan themselves’ a 5/805 for an odd service if needed in the maintenance schedule as required.
Well, I think I’ve fixed it all, not least with the added side effects such as Scarborough train crew going to Northern (so available to be used on the Bridlington side) and then you have only minor tinkering on XC such as terminating the Southampton services at York, and focusing on the Edinburgh being an 8 car via Leeds and having the right capacity.
