I had an amazing experience taking a SEPTA Regional Rail train about 11 p.m. Saturday night, two days before Halloween.
After seeing a very good play at Plays and Players in Center City, we were running a bit late for the 10:37 p.m. train to West Trenton. However, we were in luck! The train was 13 minutes late! We would get to Suburban Station in time. Yeah!
But somehow the train jumped from 13 to 37 minutes late in the blink of an eye. I wondered why. I mean there were very few other trains in service to slow down the West Trenton train. Did the train stop for a drink on a Saturday night? Did the train get lost?
The mystery was compounded by an announcement over the loudspeaker. West Trenton riders should not leave the platform because the train may show up at anytime. This had me thinking the West Trenton train was actually a ghost. Even if it did appear, I would be very reluctant to ride this spooky train.
We were still in good shape because we parked at the Jenkintown train station. Following the advice of experienced commuters, the best stops in Montgomery County are Jenkintown and Glenside. A large number of train lines stop at these stations.
The next train due at Suburban Station was a Warminster line train. It was scheduled to arrive in 15 minutes, and it was on time. Yeah!
About five minutes later, however, a voice came over the loudspeaker indicating there would be no more Warminster trains that night. This message was repeated. Online, SEPTA indicated the next Warminster train was coming in 999 minutes! I guess SEPTA planned to cancel all of the Sunday morning trains in into Warminster as well.
I figured everyone waiting for that train would be scrambling for the exits and desperately trying to make alternate arrangements to go home. Wrong! No one moved!
About another five minutes later, the announcer indicated that the Warminster train was not canceled. In fact, it would arrive on time. I believe this was SEPTA’s version of trick (cancellation announcement) AND treat (the train actually showing up).
Even more interesting, when the Warminster train arrived, it was really crowded. I guess the passengers did not take the cancellation announcement seriously.
My sister, an experienced SEPTA Regional Rail rider, told me that the key to riding SEPTA is “to have very low expectations so that you are never disappointed.”
I also believe that a good sense of humor is very helpful.
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John Clark is a resident of the Rhawnhurst section of Northeast Philadelphia.