Off the rails
8 08 2008
According to G.K Chesterton the most romantic thing in the world is when the trains runs on time. Only someone who lived in Britain could say such a thing. When it actually happens, your typical Englishman is a little unsure how to act; other than the usual exclamations of “Good gracious, the train is on time!”, what we’re really left with is a nagging suspicion that something, somewhere must be wrong.
So you’ll understand that when Salmantinos start moaning about the trains being “up to thirty five minutes late”, it’s hard to suppress a smile. “Thirty five minutes” eh? I could tell you stories of delays that would harrow your soul, of desolate hours spent in the nondescript limbo of Manning tree or Nuneaton. But tardiness is only one concern of troubled Salamancan commuters; there are also complaints of safety compromises and unhygienic practices. Well, let’s turn the tables and look at the demands made on the system. Very reasonably, everyone wants the best service at the best price and as often as it’s needed; but this simply isn’t possible. We hate to admit it but there are quite obviously limits to what the system can achieve. Nobody in the west seems to be able to admit that such limits do exist; heaven help us if one day we have to accept the fact that the standard of living can’t follow an infinite upwards gradient. There are, to put it simply, more people wanting more services which finite resources, quite bluntly, can‘t supply. Alongside this situation however we have the IT revolution, which harbours the potential to allow many more of us to work from home and preclude the need for any sort of travel. This isn’t the “food in pill form/hover car” version of the future, it’s obviously something that’s already a very real part of many people’s lives here in Salamanca - and across the world.
If the “development” of public transport in Europe (and especially England) is anything to go by, the situation here seems unlikely to improve much. What we will probably get is a series of middle management initiatives, hollow PR exercises and a leaflet (entitled “customer service charter, moving forward into a brighter future together”). On the other hand maybe more of us should consider working from home; think of the many benefits, a decent lunch break, a personalized schedule optimising your time, and freedom from that “breathing down your neck” sensation that the boss gives you.
Not that I’m a misanthropist, but it would also free us from having to associate with the sort of people that, under other circumstances, we would go out of our way to avoid. Most of us at some time have had to work in an environment where we are forced to spend hours on end with unimaginative, and desperately uninspiring people. So giving up commuting has many advantages: it’s ecologically sound, economically positive and is an enormous step towards a far saner way of living.
Then perhaps our transport systems will be free to provide the quality of service which we enjoyed during the “Golden age of steam” (at least according to my 1952 “Boy’s book of modern wonders”).
