March 13, 2013

• Saved from the Snow by Train Driver

  On Monday it snowed (in MARCH?!?!?!?!). It snowed and it snowed all day long. Consequently the trains all died. English trains are not built to cope with any weather except that of a mild nature. Unfortunately for me, Monday is the day when I have to use the trains. I cannot drive and I have no other way of getting to my placement. So I set off (wrapped up warm) on my trek through the snow, pulling a large suitcase full of toys, to reach the station. On arrival I was greeted by the display board listing many trains as ‘cancelled’ or ‘delayed’. Luckily for me mine was running on time. My 10.00 train arrived right on time at 10.05, and off we went! We stopped at the next station and people got on and off…. and then we just didn’t leave. Finally a man came through the train proclaiming that the train was terminated and we should go to another platform to get the next one. The next train made it to my destination and I was only half an hour late for my placement. However on the way home, I got to the station only to find that my train was delayed by 10 minutes and the one that had been due half an hour before still hadn’t arrived. This station has very little shelter. It was cold and I was turning very quickly into a snowman (a cold one). Each time we approached the time that one of the two trains was supposed to be arriving the screen would change and it would be delayed another 5 minutes. And then the train that had been due before mine was cancelled, while mine continued to get later and later. I began to imagine that I would be stranded, that I would have to sleep on the station or alternatively spend huge amounts of money on a taxi home. In the midst of these imaginings the screen changed and said ‘Please stand back, the approaching train is not scheduled to stop here’. So we all stood back and watched as a train approached very slowly and ground to a halt in the station. The driver lent out and called out where he was going and it became clear that this was the cancelled train. I am suspecting that he had been told to skip our small measly station due to his lateness but decided to stop anyway. I therefore love this man as he saved me from near certain death by snow. Though obviously I love my husband more.

  • 3:16 pm
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