With more stops, you run a higher risk of complaints from existing operators (LNER) that HT would be stealing their business between say Peterborough and London. HT should be able to get a good loading from Sheffield, despite its size it only gets 2tph from EMR, and 75% of journeys are done by car (according to FirstGroup) making it a good target for a Lumo-type open-access application.Is this planned to be non-stop from KX to Retford? Or provide other journey opps (e.g. a faster Peterborough to Sheffield link than via Notts - or at Stevenage - where Luton/Bedford no longer exist - good for a Herts railhead opp)
Remember that Lumo only stops at Stevenage, Newcastle and Morpeth.
I'm guessing Hitachi's London depot is packed? (and wouldn't do 22x)And the exact location the 22x comes from in the morning depends on the deal HT can make with potential maintainers but it will be in the North. No fixed view yet.