train hassles

Today is my late shift, which means that I work from 11 am to 7 pm. On days like this I get to wake up a little after 7 am, which is nice. It's around the time I used to wake up before I moved to the Blue Mountains.

Just before leaving for work, I remembered that I needed to test some of the off-campus access to our databases. So I did that, even though it caused me to run a little late. I almost missed my train, but didn't, thanks to my running.

Anyway, the train ride is going smoothly until we hit the section between Glenbrook and Lapstone. This is one of the prettiest sections of the whole track, as it overlooks a beautiful gorge. On the downside, there's no mobile phone coverage there and the track is prone to rockfalls.

All of a sudden, the train stops. An unexplained stop for 5 minutes is nothing out of the ordinary. Soon 10 minutes have passed. Eventually the driver says something on the intercom, but the intercom is so garbled that it's only possible to understand one in every three words. Something about a problem with the track, something about returning to Springwood. Springwood? That's practically where I started. What would we do from there - catch a bus? Then I'd never get to work...

There is much more confusion and delays. There is little more information about the problem, something about a damaged track ahead, caused by a rockfall? Eventually, after sitting still for almost an hour, we start moving again, forwards. Apparently it's ok to continue. In the end I'm only 30 minutes late to work because in my original plan I was going to be getting in a little early.

Most of the time the rail system works well for me. I could not imagine driving all the way to work and back every day. But when there are problems with it, it really sucks.