Possible ideas for Cross Country using short HST's

[Aictos]

Most services run Coleshill, Nuneaton, Leicester, Melton Mowbray, Oakham, Stamford, Peterborough, March, Ely, Cambridge, Audley End, Stansted. So, it doesn't have "such a weird stoping pattern" for a start.

Indeed, the only issue is the fact that 3 coaches are simply not up to the job as they really ought to be 4 cars minimum even if this means getting rid of 1st.

 

[swt_passenger]

There seems to be a trend for suggesting over-specced trains for the ex- Central Citylink services that now live in the XC franchise.

I think that trend has been there ever since the routes were transferred to XC. A possible triumph of marketing over reality, but they just aren’t the same type of services as the original XC, and expecting similar rolling stock to the real XC is unrealistic.

 

[Meerkat]

Apart from cash is there any reason the Stansted platforms can’t be extended?

 

[JonathanH]

Apart from cash is there any reason the Stansted platforms can’t be extended?

Space / track layout / points - the land probably is available but you would need to move various sets of points. The bay can't easily be extended back into the central island, particularly if running diesel trains.
https://goo.gl/maps/gS3cptjH5WDbeTCYA

 

[Meerkat]

Space / track layout / points - the land probably is available but you would need to move various sets of points. The bay can't easily be extended back into the central island, particularly if running diesel trains.
https://goo.gl/maps/gS3cptjH5WDbeTCYA

But possible, and maybe a better use of money than tangled stock shuffles and strangled capacity?