Thanks PAxBoy
but your reply is only bolstering my argument.
You lay out a lot of points there about HEx and my answer to every one of them is
"It was designed not to need them"
or has a safety system already built in that is better and more reliable than the one you mention, therefore either eliminating causes of delay or making them predictable ones that can be factored into the timetable.
But I'm kind of destroying my own original argument, because HEx won't wait for me !
!But! there's another one along in 15 or 20 mins and my boarding card can be purchased on the train itself ( for a little extra ) Try doing that on an airline. (yes I know about weights etc etc blah blah bore dangerous snooze )