To definitely jump the turnstile in this situation

[CurdinHenry]

https://x.com/MichelleDewbs/status/2064993574341513645

She has a ticket, it won't scan, staff insanely refuse to help so she can't get through and misses her train.

This in a city increasingly famous for tailgating.

I'd be hopping straight over.

Staff didn’t ‘refuse to help’; some were not authorised to, and the one who was had a queue. The issues are that the time between platform being announced and train departing is too tight, meaning there is no room for issues like a dodgy print out/wrong code; and the unavailability of (properly authorised) staff.

The solution is not to jump the gate. The issue of jumping/tailgating/swarming the buggy gate is separate. There absolutely should be better barriers, but with that, as above it seems there needs to be a longer boarding window and more staff to help in case of issues.

You don't make people queue you just open the turnstile. They were being completely useless.

Exactly. What's the point of having a person there if they can't do something that simple?

I suspect that pp doesn't use trains often

"You just go verrrry slowly one by one through various tourist's questions in turn that's fair!"

How is that the solution for the woman in question? The solution you propose wouldn't have made her catch her train. In the moment the solution was jumping the turnstile.

I use trains daily for my commute, and fortnightly if not weekly for trips. The bravado of these middle aged women indignantly jumping over is making me chuckle this morning and I look forward to the spectacle on subsequent journeys.

It wouldn’t : but then again most people can cope with minor inconveniences or can work ticket machines and turnstiles.

Waiting 30 mins for the next one is in 99.99% of cases hardly going to be the end of the world, is it?

I was ready to be slightly sympathetic then I saw who it was

Dewberry is a rage baiter. She's frequently made stuff up and been challenged on it.

I'm not saying the railways don't have problems but I'd rather take notice of a reliable source.

All she is doing is trying to rustle up a hate on for the staff at Waterloo.
No you cannot queue jump.

Those gates are pretty high. Jumping them in business wear would be a pretty athletic feat.

Much more likely would be someone getting stuck or injured in a very undignified position which would lead to far worse delays.

I’ve had this happen, arrived with 20 mins to spare, waiting and waiting and then a very late platform announcement with 3 mins to go until the train leaves, scrum of people crossing the length of the concourse, I’m near the back. Ticket wouldn’t scan, push my way out to find a person, queue for the person, luckily he lets me through and I sprint onto the train as the doors were closing. Several folk left behind me who didn’t make it.

I couldn’t have jumped the barrier and it didn’t cross my mind that this was the solution.

The solution would be platforms announced with enough time to allow those who aren’t athletes to make it on time (there is no way someone of reduced mobility or with young children or large luggage would have made my train), and ticket gates and tickets that work, and enough staff to help those that might need it.

I’m not inclined to believe anything this woman says.

Play by the rules and you get shafted. Tailgate, jump over, be a prick and nobody does anything about it.

In some cases, when you’ve paid over £200 for a ticket that won’t be valid on the next train, getting the next one is the end of the world. And if you have a booked seat on your train and the next train is a peak train, then standing for hours is also not ideal. And often I’m trying to get a train that I need to be on, or I’ll be late for work / to pick up a child / to be home for the shopping delivery. Why should I, the paying customer, be inconvenienced because the train operators can’t run their station properly. Most trains have a ticket check on the train anyway, so the barrier isn’t even that important.

Precisely. Did this even occur ?
I hope nobody gives it any thought.

It happened to me several times that my ticket didn't scan, or that I needed to go through for various reasons, and I have only been met by nice staff members that let me go through.

I really doubt her story happened like she said, if it happened at all.

I suspect that's what's happened here. I've had the scenario where, for one reason or another, my ticket hasn't worked on the barrier and, every single time, I've just gone up to the nearest guard, shown him or her my ticket, and they have let me through. This story doesn't ring very true at all.

If, as she claims, she had time to go to the opposite side of the concourse at Waterloo to faff around trying to buy a ticket, she had time to stand in a queue.

If you buy a paper ticket and have it next to your phone, the phone signal can wipe the magnetic strip so the ticket doesn’t work.
Done this several times by accident.

Train staff will just look at ticket and open the gate for you.
I’ve even seen them open all the gates when there is a huge crowd and a train about to leave to get people through. So it does seem unusual that barrier staff would make things difficult.

What a strange thing to claim. 30 minutes delay could cause huge huge consequences for a huge number of travellers. Missing meetings, health appointments, job interviews, connecting onward travel etc...

It is of your ticket was for a particular train. Which any advance ticket will be.

Who is she and why couldn't she just tap her card?

It's not bravado it's just practical. Rather than obedient waddling to the back of a long and pointless queue. If you couldn't manage it yourself I suggest pilates.

You can't tap your card when you're using the national rail network! Only underground

I’m not convinced the queue would make anyone miss their train, staff just quickly glance at the tickets normally so people are moving through quickly. Occasionally they’ll insist that I try to scan before they let me through but not in cases where there’s a late platform announcement/ a big queue. Actually on Tuesday at Euston I looked at my ticket after being let through and realised it was the return leg I’d tried to use and shown.