The Citylink service ground into Chesterfield station two hours late. I was starting to get a little bit peckish now. The conductor's sacked voice came over the intercom one final time: "We have now arrived in Chesterfield. One again I am sorry for the delay. I am...cough...also very sorry to inform you that this service will terminate at Sheffield, the next station stop along this line. Passengers wishing to travel to Manchester and beyond should board a Pennine express service to Manchester Piccadily. Passengers can get connections from there and local trains onwards to their destinations. Those wishing to travel to Stockport...err...I have no idea what your gonna do, just...err...play it by ear."
"Groan!" groaned all the Stockport-bound passengers.
"Horray!" horrayed everyone else.
So after arriving in Sheffield a matter of a quarter of an hour later, the moment the doors opened, we were confronted by about a dozen railway officials waving clipboards and shouting: "Come on! Platform 4! Train for Manchester Piccadily leaving now! Move it, move it!" like those angry army-type bastards.
Shrieks of near-terror then issued from the train as people spilled out over and under me, whacking me with large bags containing dangerous and heavy articles (it felt).
I gathered my bearings and started moving quickly. Thats the last time I carry small metal balls in my outer pockets.
"Manchester Oxford Road?!" I questioned and exclaimed at a guard standing outside my next train.
"Piccadily only," he replied with an air of pride, like he would not have anything to do with the badly designed and decaying shit dump that is Manchester Oxford Road station.
"Fuck it," I thought silently - at least I hope I did - and leaped up the step and onto a sweltering and crowded rush-hour train.
[Whoops, looks like it will have to be FIVE posts to explain this. Think that's a lot? I've boarded more trains in a single day yano...]
3 comments:
How can there be 5 parts for a 4 part post? the confusion is overwhelming...
but then again, you can néver read too much abt trains now can you?
That is the dissadvantage of having the outskirts connected by train. Here in Mexico, public transportation (also known as "peseros") may take more than 100,000 hostages at once if they decide not to work. And there you are, stranded 67 km away from your working place, with no option at all. So you have an excuse to be absent.
3 and 3/4? Geddit? Like in Harry Po...ah never mind.
To answer your other question Crashdummie: No. Trains rule!
Suppose that is a good excuse if your late for work Usual Stuff. At my school we don't get any slack, no matter how many buses get blown up.
Sorry, that was a bit of a tasteless remark.
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