Stinky Train

I had to get up at 05:30 this morning to get a 7am flight to London. All went smoothly and we arrived in time to have coffee before our big meeting at 11am ? although I?d have preferred the extra hour in bed instead of hanging around.

The meeting itself was really good ? got a great understanding of what we need to do to make progress.

Getting back was a nightmare. One of my colleagues had bought me a train ticket, but hadn?t reserved me a seat. By the time I arrived at Kings Cross for the 14:00 to Edinburgh, the train was packed. People were filling all the vestibules and corridors, and the staff were stopping anyone getting on without a reservation... The station was hot, sweaty, and mobbed with angry people missing their planned train.

I managed to get on a train 30 minutes later to Newcastle, and somehow even managed to get a seat by literally running down the platform to the front of the train. The seat I sat in was the only one I saw in the whole train without a seat reservation tag on it. Of course, it still wasn?t very comfortable with people filling the corridors and constantly pushing past, it was very hot and sweaty, and the toilet stank. I feel disgusted just thinking about it. I did explore up and down the train a bit, but everywhere smelled of toilet.

My luck changed a little at Newcastle, in that a connecting train to Edinburgh had been delayed, so I only waited a couple of minutes ? I expected to wait more than fifty. The second train was full too.

Lesson learned ? I?ll be paying much closer attention to travel arrangements others make for me in the future to ensure I at least have a seat reservation on the train I plan to get...

This journey has also reminded me that the upgrade charge for first class is worth it to avoid the crush. I wasn?t allowed to upgrade on the train because in each case it was fully reserved in advance.

Right, time to put that out of my mind so I can enjoy the evening. It will be an early-ish night since I?m off diving early tomorrow. I need to be up at about 06:30, so at least that?s an hour later than today!