Paul Corfield wrote:
I post here for *fun* - this isn't my job or even an extension of it. I
hope I add something to the group by commenting or sharing information.
If people are going to expect more from me than I can ever hope to
deliver - and it's happened once before - I'll simply have to go. (Don't
all cheer at once!).

Time to go on the defensive here...!

I am not holding you responsible WHATSOEVER, but when you stuck up for
them and other people criticised them, I felt it was okay to ask what
you thought about them. It doesn't matter either way, and it doesn't
bother me /that/ much.

Yes, I am concerned that people can avoid paying their fare as a
result. Part of this is because in the space of a week I had two people
double up on me, but I don't lose that much sleep over it. I'm not
about to pin them down to the ground and place them under citizens
arrest! Maybe I should (!) and the possible upside would be that you
wouldn't be reading this now; I'd be in hospital, or worse.

You got me wrong the last time too. I have an opinion, just like you
do, and it seems to be shared by passengers and officials alike. You
did say you were involved in their roll out so please excuse me if I
didn't see elsewhere that it was a long time ago. I am not fully up to
speed on when these gates first appeared anywhere, although I know
Kings Cross was obviously not the first.

While I'm sure it would be lovely to imagine that I'm personally
accountable for everything that happens on LU I'm afraid I'm not. I
can't take ownership of every issue or go round quoting one post from a
newsgroup as some grounds for doing something.

I have a great deal of respect for you, and your postings. I would have
to say that the gates are about the only thing I have a beef about, so
it's not all bad is it?

You obviously have an enormous "bee in your bonnet" about these gates
and you should therefore raise your concerns through the correct
channels if you have not already done so.

See my comment above. I have written on more than one occasion about
them, but I write a lot (such is life for a journalist) and that
doesn't mean it's a crusade or a personal attack on you.

FCC are already noticing the
problem with the new gates on the GN branch, where people are managing
to get through pretty easily.

I assume you have also complained to FCC.

I don't really need to complain. I have contacts that I can and do
speak to about such matters. I also deal with the PR for TfL and have
met them before (albeit about things like the journey planner service
and other online/mobile services and not so much the actual train
service), but it isn't a big enough deal to start complaining about the
gates. Should I meet anyone from TfL about something else, I may well
slip it in to conversation - we shall see.

I picked on you because you claimed to have some involvement and seem
to know just about everything you need to know about the tube. As I was
mistaken about all the facts, I can simply go away and whinge like
everyone else in private. Doesn't change the fact that the gates are
too slow though.

I have not been involved in Prestige or ticket gates for 8 years. The KX
gates are a further development of the Mk1 electric "slim" gate - I was
involved with that development and while not perfect [1] I think it has
done very well given it was used to extend LU gating and has been used
extensively on the TOCs. The fact I can talk about the gates is a sign
of my elephantine memory rather than knowledge of recent developments.

Fair enough.

Jonathan