In message , Dave Newt
writes
During peak hours, the huge lounge at Waterloo is useless, since you
never actually get a chance to sit down, due to not being let through
until it's time to go. I'm sure the shops in the lounge are *delighted*
at losing so much custom.

I've not been on E* from Waterloo for about a year, but I was always
allowed through the ticket barrier and into the long-fishy-space
whenever I arrived.

By contrast, at Brussels they normally only let people past the ticket
barriers and into the rather spartan second waiting area on a "just in
time" (or possibly "almost too late") basis. With typically less than
one train an hour it's not as if that area would ever fill up (and it's
bigger than the outside waiting room anyway) or that people would get
confused and board the wrong train.
--
Roland Perry