Youve had a different experience to Thameslink than most I’ve met, most people hate it, and wish for the old Gillingham semi fasts to return, which I must say in light of the EL at Abbey Wood, would be handy, I can’t imagine the all stations Thameslink service being as popular as the old Gillingham semi fasts.
We often disagree about the Thameslinks but you do have a point about the Gilly semi fasts. My problem with those was always that they were too exclusive. If you benefitted from a semi; I can see why you would want them back.
In Metroland, the goal is to shovel passengers into and out of London. Turn up and go services and swallow up passenger loads to reduce overcrowding during the peaks.
I would say that a turn up and go service isn't about faster journey times. Nobody really cares. Commuters time their journeys for the daily grind and the leisure folks just want to get where they are going without making an effort.
Even the Sidcup 'semi fasts' don't really sit with the 'Metro' ethos. They tend to run based on minimal service requirements and operationally to get units back in town to run peak services.