Well, I must admit that the
Dutch Railways aren't as bad as they used to be, so it's rather sad that they fell back into their old habits as they did today.
I needed to be near Amersfoort, so I took the 7:11 Intercity from Zwolle. Well, as soon as I sat down, the train's PA-system came to life: "Ladies and gentlemen, due to a maintenance train breaking down between two stations near Amersfoort, this train will not run today. Leave the train please."
Oh well, things happen, right? Unfortunately, taking the car would mean I'd be in a traffic jam for the better part of two hours, so I decided to take an alternative route; through Deventer, where I would switch to the train headed for Amersfoort.
The station's PA: "Ladies and gentlemen, there will be a train going directly to Amersfoort. This train will leave from platform 3"
Lucky me; I was already there, so I boarded the train, whipped out my laptop and started to do some homework.
Just as I popped my can of
coffee, the train's PA-system announced that this train would NOT stop near a platform at Deventer station, so people heading for Deventer should disembark immediately. Some panic ensued as the people who didn't want to skip Deventer fled the train, after which we headed for Amersfoort with a slight detour.
Or so I thought.
When we arrived at Deventer, I noticed we actually were stopping alongside a platform.
At that moment, the PA-system once again came back to life, announcing that, contrary to popular belief, this train would terminate at Deventer after all!
Brilliant.
So there I was; on a windy platform in Deventer, over thirty minutes late already and no sign of any trains heading for Amersfoort
For those of you who travel by train now and then; notice something familiar?
As time moved on, trains arrived, spewing their contents over the already quite full platform, while the station's PA remained silent.
About 30 minutes after I arrived, a train to Amersfoort was announced. By then, the platform I was on, resembled the platform for the Yamanote Line in Shibuya during rush hour.
When the train arrived, it was empty. When it left, it was packed to the roof with people.
I decided to wait for the next, which turned out to arrive just minutes later.
I made it to my destination only 70 minutes late, so I'm entitled to a refund of my ticket.
Dutch Railways are improving, they really do! But this morning was a classic example of the old days when I worked in Utrecht and experienced delayed trains almost on a daily basis.
Cheers, K.