Readers react to ticket barriers being installed at Portsmouth stationsÂ

Part of the firm's £90m station improvement programme, it is hoped that the barriers will help combat fare-dodging in the city.

Portsmouth and Southsea already has the barriers '“ but Portsmouth Harbour, Fratton, Hilsea and Cosham do not.

Readers of The News have had a mixed reaction to the announcement '“ while some agree that it is a necessary decision to make, others have raised concerns about the station getting overcrowded on Pompey match days.

Ken Hewitt said: '˜Obviously the ticket checks recently identified a lot of people without tickets then to justify the investment.'

Joe Sweeney said: '˜Good, that will stop people from travelling on the trains without a valid ticket.

Caroline Bennett added: '˜Should have been done ages ago! I pay my fare so why shouldn't anyone else?'

However, some people believe that the new ticket barriers could cause problems on Pompey match days.

Karl Wood said: '˜They were never installed as deemed unsafe for match days before and after games, why now?'

Ed Watson said: '˜Be interesting on match days when the entire station will be backed up and everyone will just climb over.'

Vanessa Windsor added: '˜Really want to see how this will work after football. It's bad enough now being herded like animals.'

What do you think? Join the debate by commenting below!