What with various appointments, my flex-time bank has been shrinking a lot lately, so time to put in some long workdays. However, on the way to work the train stopped between stations. A very soft-spoken driver announced to straining ears that the overhead line had been pulled down; technical staff were on their way, but in the meantime we were under no circumstances to try to exit the train. Well-tried commuters didn’t bother getting upset, but just picked up their phones and laptops and started informing their various appointments that they would be late. The network was so saturated it took me four tries to get my own text message transmitted. And then we waited. Luckily I had a thick book with me. Occasionally we would have to shush loud telephone speakers as we got new quiet assurances that help was on its way and admonishments not to try to get out of the train.
About an hour after the stop we saw guards in day-glo vests outside the train and soon two doughty fellows entered the car and broke out the escape ladders. Evacuation proceeded smoothly, but I noticed as we got out that our car was the only one being emptied—apparently they were still worried about masses of people running around without control, so they let only one car-ful of passengers out at a time. The next thing I noticed was that we were in fact only a hundred meters or so from Norrviken station where a fresh train just arrived, so a few quick steps got me on that and to a rather late arrival in the office.
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