Trip back home

Coming back from the Netherlands by train tends to be quicker, but more stressful, than going there. The difference is where I need to get through security and passport control. On the way out that happens in London. The first stop after London, after all, is in the EU. So I make sure to book my trains to London in such a way I have plenty of time on St Pancras.

On the way back, all this has to happen in Brussels, as that is where I board a train that takes me out of the EU again, and back into the UK. Nobody wants to check me for anything in Amsterdam! I can just pootle to Belgium without anyone being interested in that. But if I buy my tickets, I buy them in one go, and they always only offer an itinerary that has about an hour in Brussels. And that’s a bit tight when anything goes wrong! But it does mean I can rock up in Amsterdam minutes before the train departs, spend only an hour in Brussels, and can just jump on the first train north from Euston once I get there. That’s quite efficient! 

This time I took the train that gave me 20 minutes changing time in Amsterdam, which was fine. We reached Schiphol without issues. But before Rotterdam the train came to a halt. An announcement said there was an issue with the overhead cables. Oh dear. 

My view when we were standing still between Schiphol and Rotterdam

After a while we get moving again. Train personnel kept us well-informed. And they went through the train, checking how many of us wanted to go to London. They counted 96. (Wouldn’t they just know from Eurostar bookings?) and when we approached Brussels, they said our connecting train would wait. But we had to be quick!

I made sure I was quick. There were Eurostar employees strategically placed to guide us in the right direction. I was one of the first ones at the ticket gates. One of the first through security. And the first through passport control, and the first on the train. Success! And it would leave 30 minutes late. Maybe they could catch up a bit along the way.

To my surprise, we were fed! I had made sandwiches, but we got quite a good meal. I went for the vegetarian option. Very snazzy! I also had a seat  in a row only one seat wide, so the advantages of both window and aisle seat. 

Impressive food

We got to London St Pancras with that same 30 minutes delay. I walked to Euston, hoping to be able to catch a direct train home. And I soon realised my luck had run out.

Disconcerting results when I checked for trains from Euston I could catch

There were no trains on the light board. An announcement spoke of serious delays in quite a lot of London for reasons of the emergency services dealing with an incident. I spoke with a railway employee, and his best advice was to make my way to Marylebone, and head to Birmingham from there. That’s roughly in the right direction. 

Bad news on the monitor

I wondered if I could walk, but I would need Google Maps for that, and it looked like the station’s signal was crammed full of other frustrated travellers. I would just take the underground. I headed down the stairs, and found a patient TfL man willing to tell me with which line I needed on what platform, and how I could pay the fare. And I got there. Marylebone was filled to the brim with travellers like me. But it did have a train to Birmingham Moor Street. That seemed to be my best bet. 

The train was not run by Avanti, from whom I had bought my ticket, but in Euston already announcements claimed that that day, a lot of rail companies would accept each other’s tickets. So I was let through the ticket gates, onto the platform. 

This train was many people’s best bet. Getting on the train reminded me of stories about the Tokyo Metro. It seemed full, but more people kept cramming in. At least it left. And there was a spirit of solidarity among the travellers.

Busy!

I had found out my next best bet was to walk to Birmingham New Street. There seemed to be a train to Crewe from there. That vanished from existence. I briefly saw a train to Holyhead announced. That also vanished from existence. A railway employee recommended the train to Aberystwyth, which would stop in Shrewsbury. That would get me again a bit closer to my goal. 

Birmingham was busy! And the station imposing. I found some chairs and had an improvised evening meal. 

Approaching Birmingham New Street on foot

The platform for my train was worryingly busy. Would this be another Tokyo situation? But it was ok. I found a place to sit. And at the first few stops, many people got out, so there was room to spare. And it got better; the train was nominally going to Aberystwyth, but in Shrewsbury it got split, and my carriage continued straight to Bangor. Good! 

I should originally have arrived there at 19:37. The train I was actually in had an ETA of 21:52. And actually arrived at 22:00.  Oh well. That’s 14 hours of travel. Only two hours worse than on the way out!