Commuter Boy I

A CAVEAT: You know how I said this blog was approximately 95% less angry? Well this is the left over 5%...

Scheduled Departure Time: 07:53

Actual Departure Time: 07:53

Scheduled Arrival Time: 08:18

Actual Arrival Time: 08:33

Explanation / Apology: Yes. Full and frank.

Weather: Drying from the overnight downpour

So, yes, since I last did one of these, many things have changed. I have to get into work earlier for one. But surprisingly South West Trains have been rather good.

Which makes it all the more irritating when it goes wrong.

Today, apparently, we were stuck outside Waterloo for 15 minutes because one of the outgoing trains had a faulty radio and it couldn't leave the platform. Not sure what was up with any of the 18 other platforms. Yes, I know we would have held someone else up, but it's amazing how selfish commuting can make you. By 10 minutes there were quite a few of us wanting to rip open the door and walk into Waterloo we were that close.

It reminded me of the bad old days with the black hole outside Waterloo. And also reminded me of the fact that when the owners of the Eurostar terminal at Waterloo decided it was to be closed in favour of the new terminus at Paddington, they didn't think:

"Hey, we've got six free platforms coming up at a horrendously overcrowded station - just think, if we open them up to normal trains we can eliminate the normal morning congestion."

No. They didn't think that. They thought:

"Hey, we've got six free platforms coming up at a horrendously overcrowded station - just think, we can turn it all into a big shopping centre and add fifty million shoppers to the gaggle of pissed off commuters. Then we can sit in our offices and laugh as the whole concourse descends into a violent, hate-fuelled mess."

You see, the second option brings more money in. So they can continue splashing cash out so that their huge pendulous man breasts can continue be massaged daily in baby oil by teams of scantily-clad nymphettes imported from Russia.

Luckily several sensible MPs have opposed this, and I understand it will be given over to trains now after all. So the fat rulers of Waterloo station will have to massage baby oil into their own breasts for the time being until they come up with another scheme to make vast piles of cash.

A victory for the little commuter I think. Now all they need to do is fix the black hole that's sprung up in Barnes...