Thameslink currently lists the East Croydon–Bedford journey at around 1h 23m fastest / 1h 36m average, making it a substantial but very playable route. TSW7 Route Proposal: East Croydon – Bedford Proposed route East Croydon → Bedford # Station 1 East Croydon 2 Norwood Junction 3 London Bridge 4 Blackfriars 5 City Thameslink 6 Farringdon 7 St Pancras International 8 Kentish Town 9 Cricklewood 10 Hendon 11 Mill Hill Broadway 12 Elstree & Borehamwood 13 Radlett 14 St Albans City 15 Harpenden 16 Luton Airport Parkway 17 Luton 18 Leagrave 19 Harlington 20 Flitwick 21 Bedford Important: the exact stopping pattern could vary depending on the timetable era chosen. Why it would be excellent in TSW The route could offer several very different environments: South London East Croydon Norwood Junction London Bridge Dense urban scenery Busy junctions and intensive traffic Central London Blackfriars City Thameslink Farringdon St Pancras International Snow Hill tunnel / core section Extremely dense AI traffic North London Kentish Town Cricklewood Hendon Mill Hill Broadway Bedfordshire Elstree & Borehamwood St Albans Harpenden Luton Flitwick Bedford More open countryside and higher-speed running Rolling stock The Class 700/0 and Class 700/1 would be the obvious centrepieces. I'd propose: Class 700/0 – core services Class 700/1 – Bedford services AI Southern services around East Croydon AI Southeastern services around London Bridge AI freight/other operators where appropriate The route could also make excellent use of TSW6's dynamic features such as random events, signal delays and speed restrictions.
