hell is…
leave the house at 8:00 for a conference in birmingham. first train – cancelled. second takes 3+ hours and i finally arrive at the leisurely hour of 12:30 – just in time for the lunch break. conference ends at 3:30 and i race to the station only to find all trains to london have been cancelled. i spot a train for stanstead airport and jump on that. except it terminates in leicester. to my good fortune i discover a train headed to st. pancras and just make that by the skin of my teeth. get into london at 7:30. only to find massive delays on the northern line. the tube pulls in packed by the doors, and no one makes an effort to move in. in complete and utter exasperation i hop on the tiniest bit of ledge (y’know, wher you have to suck in your stomach as they close the doors?) and politely but loudly say “would everyone please move down into the carriage? everyone over here (i gesture to an empty space) could just step down a bit?” no one moves a muscle.
“or, y’know, *not*!!”
some guy pipes up, “actually there’s a baby in here, so no, we can’t”.
i can’t actually see much, so i assume he means a pram is taking up space.
i settle in, grumbling, and as the crowd thins out, realise there are a bunch of people with giant backpacks on (not having had the common courtesy to take them down from their shoulders to make more space) and the baby is a tiny newborn strapped to the front of it’s dad in a carrier.
fuckin’ idjits.
i make it home at 8:30 pm.
and in case anyone was counting, that’s more than nine full hours of travel hell.
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rail service, wind storm, u.k. 
Comment by gigi
19.01.2007 @ 05:55 am
atrocious. was that because of the whole ginormous wind situation?! do you get the day off tomorrow?
Comment by kim
19.01.2007 @ 06:16 am
The tube sucks! While it wasn’t 9 hours for me, it took me over 3 hours to get home from Aldgate East in East London to Clapham South because for some reason, when it’s windy, the tube either shuts or can’t run properly but then again, it NEVER runs properly. After longer delays, more crowds and rude commuters – similar experience to yours – I walked from Kennington, where we were told better to get on a bus, that was a joke, to Oval, then Stockwell and then just gave up and kept walking home. It’s all about a journey gone wrong! While the VFR or any motorcycle is not fun to ride in this weather, perhaps my chances would be better there. Happy commuting!
Comment by Jen
19.01.2007 @ 07:12 am
i just do not understand how the northern line (which is completely underground) always has delays due to the weather ?!?!
Comment by Vol Abroad
19.01.2007 @ 07:54 am
I don’t mean to be unsympathetic, but this is what will happen if you attempt to travel outside the M25. Which is why I pretty much don’t.