Things my train driver actually said on my commute home
I commute to work in London via the Northern Line every day. Usually, the train driver says very little. If they say anything, it’s usually an explanation for why the train hasn’t moved in the last minute. So I was happily surprised to hear my happy-go-lucky train driver say the following things on my commute home last Friday:
For those getting off at Embankment, I hope you have a good evening and a great weekend. And you can start your weekend off right by minding the gap at the next station.
The next stop on this magical mystery tour is Leicester Square.
If you see someone who is elderly or disabled, please do give up your seat to those less able to stand.
I see there’s a High Barnet train from this station in about 9 minutes. However, I recommend staying on this train and changing at Camden Town as you’ll probably get to your destination sooner.
If you’re going out clubbing while in Camden Town, do be careful. There are some undesirable places in Camden Town and definitely some undesirable characters.
He didn’t say much more after Camden Town, but what he said up until that point was enough to make my Friday commute so much more enjoyable. It takes so little energy from train drivers to make so many people smile; it’s a shame this doesn’t happen more often.
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Comments
When I used to ride the MAX (the light rail in Portland) I had a few similar experiences. Most drivers didn’t say a peep unless there was an unexpected delay. A few drivers were pretty cheerful and talkative, adding a little humor to a Friday commute home or better yet, a Monday commute to work. Those were the good commutes.
Nick Finck on 12 Jun 05
Brilliant! If more train drivers added a little humour it’d make travelling the tube a far more satisfying occasion. Tube trains can seem very robotic and cold. All the ‘mind the gap’ business blaring out at you at every stop can be a little unsetteling. However, I do love the way the automated voice says ‘next stop is Leicester sqare’. Always reminds me of Dedicated follower of fashion by the Kinks. Ray Davies says ‘Leicester Square’ in exactly the same plumby way. Fantastically English.
Guy Carberry on 13 Jun 05
A friend of mine works as a train guard for Central Trains (soon to be defunct due to their near total failure to keep to schedules) and likes to announce somewhat off-the-wall remarks when approaching certain stations. Announcing Wolverhampton by howling “awooooooo!” over the tannoy managed to irritate one passenger to the extent that she complained! This being the case you can forgive most drivers for wanting to just keep their mouth shut.
I’ve experienced the occasional driver who injects lighthearted comedy into his announcements, but none can match the antics of a Stagecoach bus driver, driving the Cambridge to Oxford bus. We’d left Cambridge about half an hour previously on a hot August day. As the bus takes a route via various smaller roads rather than motorways, the driver spotted a lay-by where somebody was selling plums, and pulled over. To the amusement of the passengers he asked if anybody wanted any plums. A few people giggled, most just smiled, but sadly nobody actually said yes, so he drove off again.
Ben Darlow on 13 Jun 05
Being the guard, Mr Darlow refers to, the big problem is the complaints. Not everyone shares the same sense of humour, so even if two hundred passengers find you hilarious, there will be five that don’t, and of that five, one who will be so disgusted with the ‘lack of professionalism’ that they’ll choke on their drinks and write in.
The worst are in my experience, middle aged professional career women, the sort who drive their kids to schools in 4x4’s, work in careers with some title such as ‘client p.r. manager’ or some other overpaid load of hot air and read the Daily Mail. They are utterly devoid of a sense of humour, and appear to regard most people as beneath them. They also are the sort to hold yearly season tickets and believe that this gives them a right to sit in first class when the train is anything other than virtually empty. Every complaint I have ever had, has been from these sort of women.
Sadly these sort of people are being recruited in top management jobs in the railway industry now, which probably explains why we’re all ‘train managers’ and ‘customer service leaders’ as opposed to guards, shunters and platform workers…
Pinball on 13 Jun 05