It just seems like a terribly inefficient system to verify someone’s right to access the train once they are already on the train…..
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Turnstiles are quite an expensive piece of infrastructure. You need the turnstiles, and the ticket validation next to it, and the walls or fences to prevent people from going around, and the gate around the turnstile for people with disability, and the staff to make sure people do not jump over it, etc. It is an accepted cost at a station with tens of thousands of travelers an hour. But long distance train systems do not have that many travelers. And they visit a lot of train stations along the route which would all need the turnstiles installed. That makes it a very expensive system to build and run per passenger.
Trains need conductors. The conductors do not just check the tickets but are responsible for making sure everyone gets on and off the train safely, and operates many of the functions on the train. In the case of an emergency the conductor is leading the evacuation effort and will help the engineer couple to other trains and throw switches if needed. In some stations the Amtrak also have to reverse into the platform which requires that the conductor stands on the back of the train to watch for any obstacles. So a conductor is a legally required member of the train crew even if there is no passengers. Freight trains also have conductors. Checking tickets is something that the conductor does between all his other duties on the train.
Turnstiles are also not the best system and a lot of metro and subway systems are removing them. In addition to being expensive they do slow down the flow of passengers and can be annoying for people with lots of bags or people in wheelchairs. Instead of turnstiles more and more commuter systems rely on random ticket inspections. Even on long distance train journeys you might not get your ticket checked any longer. With assigned seats it is not easy to sneak onto a train without getting noticed.
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