Originally Posted by
stut
To make it a single platform operation (which kind of makes sense now Paddington is fully electrified and there is no longer a luggage service), the dwell time will be reduced from 20 to 7 minutes, which is obviously more efficient, but offers a lot less service recovery. I wonder if this will mean fewer units in operation too?
One of the benefits of the 2-platform operation was that, under normal operation, there was always a train there to board, which could be done at your leisure. Reducing to a 1-train 7-minute turnaround will mean that most passengers will now have to wait on the concourse/platform, and endure the scrum race when boarding is announced. Puts a bit of a dent in a premium-fare experience.