Or better still, the public timetable to be brought forward a couple of minutes otherwise there will be the smart-arsed regulars who rely on the fact that the train never leaves on time.
No problem.
This, thanks.
I don’t think that this is realistic in a turn-up-and-go environment. At stations with a regular, frequent service you often see plenty of people arrive in the last 2-5 mins before the advertised departure as people know the exact time of the walk from their front door to station platform, for example. I do for my local station. Of course the station entrance to platform walk is likely going to be longer at a core Elizabeth line station than the average station but people would learn the exact duration at their walking pace and would be able to time accordingly.
This is why I explicitly said "if you are aiming for a specific train". In a turn-up-and-go environment you are not normally aiming for a specific train.
Because not everyone wants, or indeed is able to, plan their day around arriving at the station 5 minutes early. And otherwise it renders misleading the advertised 'last train' if you can't turn up the station entrance, say, 2 minutes beforehand and make it.
Because if that is how the service operates (with people being denied access to the platforms after that), then it needs to be laid out as an official policy with that actually communicated to customers.
Yep, totally get it.
From what I have seen the distance from gate to train on the Elizabeth Line looks a lot more than the Metropolitan Line on average.
Given that it takes time to walk from the train to the ticket office, being told the last train has gone and then seeing people exiting the station does not mean you were lied to - especially as these people will not be hurrying to make the last train. And anyway the difference between "the last train has gone" and "you haven't got time to safely reach the platform before the last train departs" is essentially meaningless.
It might not always be possible to be early for the last train but it can lead to missing your last train. I agree that publicly saying the gates will shut five minutes before the last train (or whatever it is if varied at other stations) should be publicised.
Thank you @Bletchleyite , for putting an extremely comical image of a green apple running down the Elizabeth Line steps into my head
DELETED - I’m an idiot and misread the post!
I agree that I can't see how they'd be stopped realistically. Although you could reach the barrier, then you're able to tap your oyster/card too - meaning even less of a reason to be stopped, all you've really done then is ignore staff. They may shout after you but if you can make the train then you can make the train. Might be a tad embarrassing if you didn't make it and had to come back up though!
There is nothing in the conditions of carriage I can see at first glance, however railway byelaw 9.2 is
Barging through the gate would definitely not be in the correct manner. If you tap in with a valid at a gate that is set to allow entry is probably not covered. If all the gates are in exit mode only then 9.3 and/or 9.4 may apply:
12.2 states:
Closing access to the station because they believe there is insufficient time to reach the platform before the last train would likely be regarded as an instruction issued in the interests of safety.
and 24.2.3 (which deals with removal from railway premises as part of byelaw enforcement)
TfL's railway byelaws [pdf] contain identical provisions (although sometimes with different numbering). It is even more explicit in one regard though:
