Changing lines on the London Underground is much like when an unexpected flash flood destroys everything in its path leaving only devastation and despair. Increasing the heart rate it quickly transforms a persons character altogether from a normal and relatively happy human being, into a never seen before angry species complete with both tail and horns. If you’re lucky enough to have a seat on the train, you will sit there waiting in anticipation for this event to begin.
Unfortunately the seat will impair you in the long run especially if its in the middle of the carriage, and this will be a huge disadvantage when the time comes to exit the train. As you fight your way through the obstacle of bags, buggys and people, you begin to feel the sweat start to intrude upon your forehead. You wonder if the seat was worth it, but it always was.
Finally you manage to push yourself through the people and reach the doors. Unscalved you now see a swarm of people crowding around the open doors in front of you and quickly coming towards you. Some of them start to push you back in to the train to which you respond with a heckle and another push. ‘Please let passengers off the train FIRST’ you repeat!
Eventually you leave the train and slowly make your way down the crowded platform. People still continue to push past you, so you have no choice but to push past them. Bags smack you round the face unaware of what they are actually smacking in to. Some people run, and apologise as they knock other people over but do not stop. Some people walk next to their friends in a long line that creates a huge barrier making it impossible for faster walking people to pass. Others walk at a snails pace and some walk only ever so slightly quicker than that. 'Is there anything worse than a slow walker over taking an even slower walker' you think to yourself.
You dodge in and out and overtake the people that you can, and then you’re faced with every commuters worst nightmare...the escalator. Someone is stood on the left hand side and they are NOT moving. To avoid confrontation the person behind them says nothing, so you wait knowing that your train is now most likely zooming into the tunnel away from the platform just moments from where you are.
Finally you reached the end of the escalator. You turn the corner smashing into the people you pass, only to see the train pulling away from the station platform. Your fears have been realised and this is then followed by the hideously annoying announcement of:
The world around you starts to crumble and you now have to get the one thing that is even worse than the tube - a London Bus! Hell has opened up and just when you think that your day cannot get any worse, suddenly perspective pays you a visit and you hear the following announcement:
You stop for a moment, take a deep breath and realise that you have just become one of ‘those people’. You get on the bus without another negative thought, you stand there with a bag in one cheek and an armpit in the other, smiling. You smile, you get over it and you get on with your journey. You then reach your final destination.
Whether its a good thing or a bad thing, changing lines is just that, its change. It can be refreshing even when you weren’t expecting it. So expect it, and it will change everything.
Unfortunately the seat will impair you in the long run especially if its in the middle of the carriage, and this will be a huge disadvantage when the time comes to exit the train. As you fight your way through the obstacle of bags, buggys and people, you begin to feel the sweat start to intrude upon your forehead. You wonder if the seat was worth it, but it always was.
Finally you manage to push yourself through the people and reach the doors. Unscalved you now see a swarm of people crowding around the open doors in front of you and quickly coming towards you. Some of them start to push you back in to the train to which you respond with a heckle and another push. ‘Please let passengers off the train FIRST’ you repeat!
Eventually you leave the train and slowly make your way down the crowded platform. People still continue to push past you, so you have no choice but to push past them. Bags smack you round the face unaware of what they are actually smacking in to. Some people run, and apologise as they knock other people over but do not stop. Some people walk next to their friends in a long line that creates a huge barrier making it impossible for faster walking people to pass. Others walk at a snails pace and some walk only ever so slightly quicker than that. 'Is there anything worse than a slow walker over taking an even slower walker' you think to yourself.
You dodge in and out and overtake the people that you can, and then you’re faced with every commuters worst nightmare...the escalator. Someone is stood on the left hand side and they are NOT moving. To avoid confrontation the person behind them says nothing, so you wait knowing that your train is now most likely zooming into the tunnel away from the platform just moments from where you are.
Finally you reached the end of the escalator. You turn the corner smashing into the people you pass, only to see the train pulling away from the station platform. Your fears have been realised and this is then followed by the hideously annoying announcement of:
‘Due to a signal failure at Bounds Green, the Piccadilly Line is experiencing severe delays. You are advised to seek another form of transport’
The world around you starts to crumble and you now have to get the one thing that is even worse than the tube - a London Bus! Hell has opened up and just when you think that your day cannot get any worse, suddenly perspective pays you a visit and you hear the following announcement:
‘Due to a person under a train at Green Park, the Piccadilly line is now suspended until further notice. Tickets will be excepted on local buses’
You stop for a moment, take a deep breath and realise that you have just become one of ‘those people’. You get on the bus without another negative thought, you stand there with a bag in one cheek and an armpit in the other, smiling. You smile, you get over it and you get on with your journey. You then reach your final destination.
Whether its a good thing or a bad thing, changing lines is just that, its change. It can be refreshing even when you weren’t expecting it. So expect it, and it will change everything.
End.
The subways in Korea are always on time, with no delays and hardly any suicides... Just saying.
ReplyDelete...but suicide is really in at the moment no? Korea is so out of touch! ...saying JUST!
ReplyDelete