"elyob" wrote ...
Is it me or are the guards now checking the tickets on the trains even
more since they installed the gates at Waterloo?

One possible reason is their need to maintain their income - in the 'olden
days', they'd get a commission on on-train sales, and wouldn't have to work
too hard to get a reasonable fee. With gates forcing more advance sales,
they may have to check more people to make sales and/or find penalty
passengers.

Treating us all like bloody criminals, I may start refusing to show my
ticket to the guard as they now have ample checks

Careful; not only are you legally required to show ticket when asked, one of
the penalties for failing to show is being banned from the line.

It'll settle down - but revenue protection is a good way to avoid
subsidising thieves, and ultimately may slow down fair rises by a few pence
per year.
--

Andrew

"She plays the tuba.
It is the only instrument capable
of imitating a distress call."