Crammed

I’m sitting like a sardine on a train heading back to Birmingham. I have only a window on my left and a wall in front of me. Earlier in the station I struggled to get a seat or find anywhere to stand while I waited for my train to be called. But as the platforms were announced and the masses headed off onto their trains, I was delighted to see that they weren’t heading for the same platform as me. I headed straight for the end of the train and found a seat easily behind the door with a smidge of legroom for my bag. It was only five minutes before departure that the train suddenly began to fill up quite quickly. Now there’s an excess in body heat with no windows to cool us down. the air conditioning is either faulty or is struggling to cope with the number of people on board. People are being friendly and are even giving up their seats in the hope of standing up to stretch their muscles. The conductor has even decommissioned and refunded the first class section in order to make space. But the biggest draw of hope is when we pull into a station and the doors open. No-one gets off, meaning that we have to wait and hope again at the next station.