♪♫ “We are sorry to announce that the . . . SINGLE TRAIN . . .service has been cancelled due to . . .AWAITING A MEMBER OF TRAIN CREW. . . “ ♫♪ 

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Driver schedules are just lists of stations, instructions and times, so if you’ve been driving verrrrry similar shifts day in day out, a slight variation can easily trip you up. This is on top of the fact that there are multiple different stations and platforms that you might start from so a misreading might mean the difference of several MILES. Mobile phones have to be off during a shift (and that’s assuming you have signal) so phoning a missing staff member rarely gets you any results so unless you’re psychic and know exactly which one of the many different stations/platforms they might be at. . . you’re up a creek without a paddle.

HOWEVER, there is a contingency plan of sorts!

There are ‘standby’ shifts, where a driver just waits in the depot so that a cancellation can be avoided by having that driver step in instead during cases of sickness, lateness, disruption, and yes, if a driver is just standing at the wrong station like a berk.

(it’s me, I was the berk)

Imagine causing your brother that kind of stress! Better take care to make sure it doesn’t happen again . . . 👀