by Graham rounds off Railway 200 year with a thank-you to those who make the railway happen – including over Christmas and the New Year.
“A single to Cambridge, please.”
Mr LNER presses the buttons. “You know there’s a bus part of the way?” I do, but appreciate his checking. He confirms which train I am heading for, and prints out a full itinerary along with the ticket.
Doncaster. Twixtmas. The ticket office is cheerful and cosy. Leaflet racks are brimming with the new ‘go all Northern’ inspiration leaflet-cum-network map, a welcome piece of old-style positivity and pride in what the railway does.
With a few minutes to wait, the coffee kiosk beckons. Clutching an Americano, my dynamic risk assessment identifies a potential scalding hazard that requires additional control measures. So I take the lid off and blow across the top. Mr Costa notices and offers an ice cube.
The station lacks something today: a bridge. It had been there last time; perhaps since time immemorial. It had crossed the whole station, from the forecourt to the Plant Works. But it has gone. Over Christmas. An orange army had taken it away while I’d been pulling crackers.
The train comes in: a 225 set, one of the fleet that had brought electric railways to Doncaster in 1989. I hop into coach B, the one at the back. A tiny window at the end of the vestibule offers a glimpse of the propelling locomotive, a rare treat nowadays.
A dog looks at me from its seat in the saloon. In the old days, this half of the coach was the smoking section. The partition is still there. But the air is cleaner now.
A ticket check soon after leaving Doncaster. Mr Guard asks the dog to sit on the floor instead of the seat. Asks the owner, technically.
This is the railway doing what it does, day in and day out. And it’s the people who do it.
Onward past the approach embankment for the Grantham southern relief road. Eventually a bridge will be pushed over the railway – perhaps another Christmas operation. For now, there’s just the pillars to see. And then the Mallard speed record sign: blink and you miss it.
Peterborough. LNER’s redcoats ready with wheelchair and dispatch batons. I switch onto a Turbostar bound for Ely. Normally it’s the Stansted train, but another orange army is resignalling Cambridge all the way through from Christmas to New Year. Ms CrossCountry walks through the train, checking each passenger’s destination and making sure they know what happens next. I’m given the time and platform for my own connection at Ely.
Ely, the Crewe of the Fens. (In fact, Crewe is the Ely of Cheshire.) This year is Railway 180 in Ely. It’s one of the most human places on the railway. The staff pride themselves on their manual announcements, and there’s a gardening group. The waiting room has a book exchange, and photos of trains. The postbox on platform 1 has a railway-themed yarn topper. The Christmas tree isn’t as magnificent as last year’s. But the coffee counter is open. Mr Greater Anglia comes onto the platform with a last call for the direct bus to Stansted Airport. A Network Rail inspection train growls past platform 3.
My bus is not quite yet: I first need the train to Cambridge North, where Ms Greater Anglia, armed with sensible warm earmuffs, checks everyone’s destination and shepherds us onto the correct bus. At the booked time, Mr Driver shuts the doors and departs along familiar streets. We arrive at the Cambridge station bus stops a few minutes ahead of schedule. There are marshals here too, with a new crop of travellers eager to board just as soon as we have alighted, or even before. They will all be cold.
For me, this is almost home. The bright lights of Cambridge station, where there are no trains today, but staff at the ticket office, the gateline and the bus stop are still helping people to get where they are going.
Sending my thanks to all those at work over this period: in the front line or the front seat, the signalbox, control, the response vehicle, the worksite, headquarters or wherever you may be on the railway at the end of this 200th anniversary year. Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
