"D DB 90001" wrote

However, I still think that local suburban services that *do*
terminate inside of Z1-6 or at stations such as Sevenoaks or Dartford
just outside Z6 should be managed by TfL, just like all bus routes,
even those which run outside of London but are mainly inside Z1-6, are
managed and run by TfL. Frankly because TfL are more likely to get
better results than other local authorities or DfT.


But the capacity on the roads isn't constrained in the same way as that on
the railways.

I believe that a lot of London commuter routes run at pretty much capacity
at peak times. Allowing one part of the route to determine what happens
there fixes what happens elsewhere.

Take Thameslink, for example, which stops and potentially stops at a lot of
London stations. If the Mayor of London had sole rights to determine
stopping patterns in London, then he would, quite rightly for him and his
electors, choose patterns wanted by his constituents, which I would imagine
would mean stopping all trains at all stops in Greater London. Thus those
passengers from outside London, e.g. Brighton and Bedford, would get a
massive deterioration in service.

I can't see why letting London alone decide the Thameslink timetable in its
own interests is such the bonus you think to Brighton or Bedford people?

Isn't it the same for most south-east routes - nearly all of which are
designed mainly for non-Londoners to get to and from London, or share tracks
with such a route?