(08 Sep 2013, 6:04 pm)Greg in Weardale wrote It's not at all a service launch for Tynedale Express today. The Sunday X84 directly replaces the 684 the two runs of which which are really only vehicle positioning and crew change runs for the 74A which would otherwise have to run LT, so even though it's not much of a service any passengers are a bonus - and you wouldn't use a Scania when an MPD will be more than enough.
Surely it would have been better for the 684 to be withdrawn today and the X84/X85 start tomorrow?
In my eyes, it has been launched because the first X84 service has commenced. If the service had started tomorrow rather than today, the service could have been launched with the Scanias and those passengers who travelled today (albeit only 10) wouldn't have seen an MPD on the first day of the new service.