Train Travails

Our train trips to and from Canterbury could have gone smoother. On Wednesday Schelley and I were a little too lackadaisical getting off the train in Canterbury and the door closed on us before we got off. We had to ride up to Birmingham and back, but that only took about a half-hour.

Returning to London today we left Canterbury only to make an unscheduled stop at Rugby where they announced there was a switch problem on the track and we would have to get off, board (more like cram into) another train and go BACK to Canterbury. Back in Canterbury we waited while they announced several different ways to get to London. First it was a train to Redding where passengers would have to switch to another train into London Marleybone (we were trying to get to London Euston), then it was train to Royal Leamington Spa with a change to another train to London Paddington.

The Leamington Spa train showed up and it was a mad scene as people literally crammed themselves into the train. Pushing, shoving, yelling with the train station people blowing whistles trying to control the scene. Schelley, Tracy and I just could not squeeze on with our bags and we were left behind.

We decided to punt and take a taxi back to London. I went out to the taxi stand and got a flat price of £200 (around $400 U.S.) Tracy and Schelley didn't come out and when I went in to get them they were coming out of the customer service office. The rail folks had just released the next express train to London in 15 minutes. Apparently the switch problem was fixed. The station manager also told Tracy they had also opened the last car of first class to coach passengers but they were not going to announce it.

So in the end we rode in a first class car on an express train for the 1 1/2 hour trip to London, while the people that crammed themselves into the earlier train ahead of us had to ride standing up, smashed together, make a train change and then stop in every town along the way. It was a great thing that we missed that train!

All-in-all we got into London two hours late. Euston Station was also just packed full of people and as we fought our way through the station they announced the the Tube station serving the train station had just been closed due to over-crowding. We went out to the street to catch taxis before they went into the taxi queue. Schelley and Tracy off to their hotel in Knightsbridge, me to Leicester Square. When I walked into the lobby the desk clerk gave me a hearty "Welcome back Sir!"

That felt pretty good.


Video: Train Ride