One thing I have noticed is apart from the weekly Stockport - Stalybridge and summer Saturdays Halton Curve services, there seems to be a few others in the mix of what may seem that should have a regular timetabled service.
Leaving the issues of rolling stock aside, I believe it should be easy in the future to increase the services to a service every 2 hours on the routes that see a very limited service.
For example, the present Leeds - Knottingley service runs every 60 minutes. One train could be extended every 2 hours beyond Knottingley to Goole - this would improve the poor links Goole has to the West Riding of Yorkshire, and would avoid the need to change at Doncaster or Gilberdyke and Selby.
Extend the present Clitheroe service to Hellifield (ideally bringing the London facing bay in the middle of the through platforms if feasible and cost effective to do so) every 2 hours. This could connect into the Leeds - Carlisle service, and would provide better links to East Lancashire and provide an alternative route to Bolton.
The present 2 daily journeys from Sheffield to York via Pontefract Baghill to be increased to one every 2 hours. This could easily interwork with the York - Selby local service. Both the Selby and Sheffield services could call at Sherburn-in-Elmet (combining to give Sherburn an hourly service to and from York), with the Sheffield service calling at Ulleskelf and the Selby service additionally calling at Church Fenton. This would dramatically improve links from Pontefract in both directions towards York and Sheffield.
Introduce a new service from Doncaster to Grimsby Town or Cleethorpes via the GN/GE Joint Railway and Gainsborough Central, to run every 2 hours. This would improve services at Gainsborough Central from the present day limited Saturday service. Additionally, this could be timetabled with the present EMT service to Peterborough so as to provide a service between Doncaster and the 2 Gainsborough stations every hour via the joint line. This would provide a far quicker service between Doncaster and Gainsborough avoiding the crazy detour and reversal at Sheffield and continuing via Worksop. Furthermore, the new Doncaster - Grimsby Town or Cleethorpes via the GN/GE Joint Railway and Gainsborough Central could interwork with the present service that runs from Cleethorpes or Grimsby Town to Newark Northgate via Market Rasen (which used to run to Birmingham many moons ago).
The Ellesmere Port - Helsby service to be third rail electrified with the present Merseyrail Electrics Wirral service extended from Ellesmere Port to Helsby. This is where this suggestion would deviate from what has been proposed for the above routes with this service to run every 30 minutes, so as to keep the Wirral services consistent.
On a final note, you may ask why am I suggesting improving the present limited service routes from a minimal service to one every 2 hours? I remember back in 1992/93 that the former Chiltern division of Network SouthEast in the days of British Rail extended the Banbury service every 2 hours northward to Birmingham Snow Hill, therefore reinstating the direct service to Birmingham Moor Street/Snow Hill via the Great Central Alternative/Great Western Joint Railway from Marylebone. Usage gradually increased on the Birmingham Snow Hill services, which led to the frequency being increased to one train per hour, then increased to the present day 2 trains per hour. In other words, by starting with a 2 hourly service, the frequency can be increased in the future if need be as in the example given above. Also, I have deliberately not mentioned increasing the Stockport - Stalybridge service to 2 hourly because I am already aware of existing proposals to reinstate the London & North Western Railway direct services from London Euston to Leeds, which used the Stockport - Stalybridge line (it would need wires obviously).
Feel free to comment or suggest other ideas if felt would provide better levels of service along these routes that see limited services.
In peace
Adam