(23 Apr 2021, 10:47 pm)L469 YVK wrote It goes back to dillution though. GNE had that problem in Derwentside but have pretty much cracked it and got a stable group of 'X' services covering Consett / Stanley and Sunniside to Newcastle.
The prospect of a 30 minute 'fast' Ashington to Newcastle service would be very tempting for passengers. Plus the clear journey time advantage from Newbiggin over the X21, it would be a win-win.
If the X20s were running around with even 20 folk on in the peaks at the moment I'd see an argument for it, the reality is that they're running around with much less than that. Most of the custom is reportedly between Alnwick at Ashington at the moment, with the pre-Covid demand between Ashington and Newcastle simply not being there. A half hourly express between Ashington and Newcastle would haemorrhage money, not to mention it would kill the local links provided by the X21.