Neil Williams wrote:
Ross wrote:

You're making the same mistake, I think.

If they're arriving at the *ticket office*, they're intending to
buy a ticket in the first place, which makes the argument being
advanced completely fallacious.

If they're arriving at the ticket barrier (if there is one) or on
the platform, then it's a different matter entirely.

The ticket office for HEx is right by the HEx (platforms 6,7) barriers
at Paddington.

The offending message, as I recall, appears on the PIS displays
throughout the station.

I was at Paddington on Sunday afternoon 22 January, and the only sign I
saw that said "Travelcards not accepted" was on the platform display at
Platform 7. HEx had two staff there to give advice to passengers; one
of them implied that Network Rail had not changed the displays despite
being requested to do so by HEx. HEx ticket staff at both Paddington
and the two stations at Heathrow were advising passengers to buy
Travelcards, though I think at least some of them were acting on their
own initiative. LU staff were on hand at T123 station and in the
arrivals hall at T4 to advise passengers and sell them Travelcards.

My conclusion is that (yesterday at any rate) any blame for wrong
information lay with Network Rail.

Network Rail were also guilty of holding my airport-bound HEx just west
of Westbourne Park for 3 minutes to let an HST overtake it. I thought
that the superior acceleration of a 100 mph Class 332 HEx was supposed
to keep it clear of a following 125 mph HST until Airport Junction.
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)