Strangers On A Train
We heard a rattle against the windows of the train. It was like hail, but then came a churning, grinding sound as tree branches were being pulled under the carriage. That's when the engine stopped and, twenty minutes later, the lights went off and so did the heating. I phoned the ´óÏó´«Ã½ newsroom in Inverness and was asked to record my description of the scene. When I'd finished some of the other passengers pointed out that I'd missed a few details. Eveyone's a critic these days.
This was somewhere in that wilderness between Carrbridge and Inverness . Apparently the branches has severed some kind of pipe or cable under the train and the driver couldn't restart the engine. We sat in the darkness for almost two hours and as the tempearture fell people began to pull extra clothes from their suitcases. The supply of free tea and coffee from the catering trolley ran out quickly and the steward busied himself by counting the passengers and finding out who would need taxis because of missed connections in Inverness. In the darkness a woman raided his abandoned trolley and made off with some beers.
I made a loud comment about how quickly the niceties of civil society can break down in an emergency. If the looting had started already, how long before we began to eat each other?
To prevent cannibalism, I shared out my packet of fruit gums and joined in a lively discussion about the mechanics of train toilets. Passengers were using the illuminated screens of their mobile phones to light their way to the loo. One couple produced a candle. It all created an eerie atmosphere. All we needed was someone to start telling ghost stories.
Then the rescue train arrived an towed us, slowly, to Inverness. I'd set off from Edinburgh at half past three and it was now after ten o'clock. It was the end of the line for me, but I was lucky. Others had said they were trying to go further north. They may still be trying.
