A Grumpy Train Driver

Normally there isn’t much of what’s now popularly referred to as “bonding” between train drivers and their passengers. The obvious reason for this is that the driver is up front looking ahead while the passengers are behind, watching things rush by the side windows, the closer the faster.

On the Mexico City Metro, communications between the drivers and the passengers are usually limited to one or two stock phrases over the public address system. “Favor de indicar en qué carro fue accionada la palanca” (please indicate in which car the emergency lever was pulled), and the more frequent, “permita el cierre de puertas” (allow the doors to close.)

Like some other crowded Metro systems in the world, Mexico’s can get so packed  that getting on and off in the rush hour requires a certain amount of pushing and shoving. This isn’t so much lack of manners as physical necessity, if you want to get where you’re going on time. It also leaves you wondering about the warning on the train doors: “por su seguridad no se recargue en las puertas” (for your safety don’t lean on the doors), which bears certain “cover your rear” similarities to consume-by dates on yoghurt lids.

This cramming in at busy stations, and partial opening and closing of doors until they all close completely – 36 double doors to each nine-car train – causes inevitable delays, which in turn leads to more crowding at stations along the line, which leads to more cramming in, which leads to more delays, which …

Enter the grumpy train driver, who one recent cold morning decided to hold his passengers to account for bringing about their own tardiness. Not happy with the repetitious, impersonal “allow the doors to close,” the driver tried: “I’m not moving until you let the doors close,” and backed this up opening the doors completely, leaving the train in silence. One stop later, he added, “I’m not advancing until you allow the doors to close, it’s your decision.” Being, apparently, in a bad mood, he didn’t follow this up by whistling into the loudspeakers to press home the point, and judging from subsequent trips, the educational effort on a single trainload of commuters was somewhat limited.