Finally, someone gets it.Except it wasn’t working. Overcrowding was common, demand was stifled, the trains were probably expensive to operate all whilst providing an inadequate quality of service.
I feel like you’re missing the point slightly. Yes, the current Valley passengers don’t want shiny new trains every 5 minutes, but of course they’re not too bothered, they’re already using the service. Modal share is quite low, however, and the WG has (not incorrectly) concluded that shiny new trains every 5 minutes are wanted by people who aren’t using the railway at present.
Obviously, there is a lot of criticism to be made regarding the execution of this grand plan. But you (not directed at anyone in particular) are deluding yourself if you think things were fine before and shouldn’t have been meddled with. The 197s have certainly had a bumpy introduction, but the end result should be vastly better than ATW.
Your last sentence in particular is the whole point of all the disruption. Arriva operated a no-growth franchise and as passenger numbers grew over their franchise period, nothing improved and the service became inadequate. With a lack of steady investment to improve, to catch up was always going to be disruptive.
Once it’s all done and dusted I genuinely do feel that TFW really could be offering some of the best rail services in the country.