Robert Hampton

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7th July 2004

Adventures in Public Transport, Part XII
Posted by at 8.34pm | 2 responses | Uncategorised

Reading on Merseyrail‘s web site that Northern Line services were subject to severe delay and cancellation, it was with a certain sense of trepidation that I walked into Moorfields station.

As it turned out, I needn’t have worried, because although services to Southport, Ormskirk and Kirkby were severely disrupted, the Hunts Cross service I wanted was running just 3 minutes late. Hurrah for problems that affect everyone except me (and I got to see the rarely used Northern Line bidirectional signalling put into action, but… that’s just a railway thing).

Then, as the train rolled into St Michaels station, the guard came on the PA system: someone has fainted and we must wait here for an ambulance. Then he came on again to ask if anyone knew first aid. I — never knowingly useful in a crisis — could do nothing but sit and wait.

Now, St Michaels isn’t exactly in the back of beyond; it’s the second station out of the city centre and is not far from a main road. But 25 minutes later, the ambulance still hadn’t arrived. Eventually the aforementioned fainter (faintee?) regained consciousness, was helped off the train by a couple of staff members and we proceeded on our way.

But really… a 25 minute wait? That’s rather worrying really.

2 Responses
  1. Comment by Seb
    8th July 2004 at 4:48 pm

    Hurrah for you. I, on the other hand, WAS caught up in those delays yesterday. Had to leg it from Southport station to the Ocean Plaza in order to make it in time for the film I was seeing…

  2. Comment by Robert Hampton
    14th July 2004 at 11:10 pm

    Well, you could do with the exercise. 🙂