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I think a distinction SHOULD be made between dishonest fare evaders and those who simply haven't bought a ticket because they didn't get chance. Certainly big stations which largely cater for inter city services, such as Doncaster, Sheffield, York, don't need to have barriers because I doubt...

Are you sure? If the railways aren't a public service, then why are they there? Almost certainly, if we were to take the "profit" approach to it, a good many branch lines would close, and there would be fewer services outside peak times. The most extreme example of this way of looking at train...

If so, what's the point of having barriers at all? If you can get round them by saying you're accompanying someone else to the platform, or even more plausible, going to meet someone getting off a train with luggage, that isn't with you at the moment, then wouldn't everybody try that? The...

Except that, as I've said in a previous posting, they are unique to Britain (at least as far as mainline services are concerned) and few if any other European countries deploy them so extensively. And elsewhere in Europe "on train checks" ARE the only method of ticket control being used, and no...

If that's happening, it's for the train company to regulate their own staff, to make sure that fares are collected and, in the situation you describe, take disciplinary action against the official concerned. Sometimes there are plain clothes inspectors. That should keep nonchalent train guards...

One possible solution, as has been suggested previously, might be to revise the fare structure. At the moment, there could be a carriage full of 20 people, all of whom have paid different fares for the same journey. I take on board the point about having to have a valid ticket to board a...

Maybe. But this is where over-regulated Britain diverges so markedly from almost all its near neighbours. Company before customers, profit before passengers, security before service. Bring back British Rail!

IN ANSWER TO YOUR POINTS: (1) Of course it's normal practice to buy your ticket in advance, and the rules require you to do so. But there may be times, as I've said, when you've either lost or mislaid the ticket, or simply not had time to buy one, through no fault of your own, when your...

Why don't people like ticket barriers? (1) They exist for the benefit of the train operator, but are a great inconvenience to the passenger. They mean that you cannot board a train without a ticket, even if you intend to buy a ticket on board the train because (for whatever reason) you...