This evening after work, I took a ride from Tanjong Pagar to Orchard station.My, I have to say I really felt intimidated by the number of people squeezing around me. What made it worst was the length of my hand - too short to reach out for the nearest handrail. Don't get me wrong.Sometimes its just that you happen to stand at the wrong position which doesn't enable you to grab any support especially when the train jerks.
Never mind the handrail,so the packed train made us feel like tunas in a can waiting to be shipped to our destination. So there I was always making way for others and being forced into the centre of the cabin. Movement was restricted during the peak hour as you fear any accidental movement might just result in an allegation of molest.
So as I was about to reach my destination at Orchard, I tried really hard to wriggle myself out of my 'central' position in the coach. There was just no space to step on and worst, people were not reacting to my gentle whisper of 'sorry, excuse me'. Why? These people had ear phones. Thanks to the creation of mobile entertainment that people no longer listened to what's around.
As the train came to a halt at Orchard, I decided to muster more courage to push my way through the deaf crowd before it was too late to get out. Guess what? I failed. The bell went off and that all familiar voice ' door closing' followed. Orchard station was gone in a matter of seconds as I stood rooted to the ground, cursing and swearing under my breath to the commuters who refused to let me out.
Perhaps, in Singapore, its considered lucky that I managed to get off at the next station which was just minutes away. Imagine if its in Delhi, I could be hours away after missing my intended destination.
So don't you think its good news that the train network is expanding in small island Singapore? Who knows. The next train station could just be seconds away.
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