Complete thinking aloud here re your thinking aloud, some very interesting thoughts you have
2, A new Doncaster-Chesterfield stopper ? Again that's not going to generate a great business case, even if extended to a Doncaster Airport Station or (Northern?)
Leeds to Doncaster EMU stopper extended all the way to Chesterfield via Sheffield calling all shacks and the continuation of the Leeds - Nottingham 'express' 158 orientated service?
3, MML extensions to Leeds/York via Doncaster (EMT) to boast the overcapacity XC services - I like this bit
Would this be some form going behind the back of EC and would they kick up a fuss if an all day hourly service ran Leeds to London StPan
Adding the extra bit between Moorthorpe and Swinton at the same time makes a little more sense, creating in addition to the above the following opportunities;
5, Opens up EMU options for stopper and semi-fast local services between Derby/Nottingham to Wakefield/Leeds (Northern)
Again i'd just continue the current 158 orientated service from Leeds as previously mentioned by to provide a Doncaster to Nottingham service i'd maybe introduce a Hull to Nottingham service with the same style of calling pattern to the current Leeds - Notts. Alternatively extend Scarborough to Sheffield services to Chesterfield. Both these leave little need for this section to be electrified unless XC would like to continue to skip Doncaster on the services that go via Leeds. Best case i think would be for both their hourly services to go York-Leeds-Wakef-Donc-Sheffield without exception.
Could perhaps go with 3 or 4 Leeds to Sheffield EMU services per hour calling all shacks, 2 via Donc, 1 or 2 via Moorthorpe. (Could be a huge pathing issue between Leeds and Donc with 2 EC, 2 XC, 1 potential EMT and 3 or 4 Northern stoppers each hour)
I feel that the case would be much stronger if the Hope Valley Line was also wired up at the same time as Sheffield-Doncaster and Swinton-Moorthorpe, giving the following in addition to the above
7, Liverpool-Manchester-Sheffield-Nottingham EMU (EMT)
8, Airport-Manchester-Sheffield-Doncaster-Airport EMU (TPE)
9, A quieter cross pennine electric freight route
Completely agree
But all this opens up questions about the future of TPE to Cleethorpes, are there enough EMU's to cascade in time and what services get new EMU's
Also, what comes after this package of overhead wiring ?
I'd put all I own on TPE getting a completely new fleet of 3 or 4-car EMUs and Northern getting a whole host of ex-London orientated EMUs nearing life's end that they'll sweat for ten years+
As far as wiring after that goes i'd do Leeds to Sheffield via Barnsley.
Manchester to Stalybridge is certainly being done first, but I thought it had been said that, so far as the rest of TP electrification is concerned, they would work west from York or Selby, so as to do the easy bits first and give more time to plan the more complex bits between Stalybridge and Leeds.
Edit: Some time ago somebody in another thread said that there would be some wiring this year near Selby, and I see now that that comes from page 42 of this:
Surely this would only be Hambleton junction towards Leeds so just to meet up with Neville Hill
