Thoughts from the RER B : Suck it in

In reference to the post, I wrote earlier about the RER B and it's problems. I have a little story about why not to squeeze and shove people onto the train or even to get on unless you are ready to face the consequences.

My husband was on the train one night and it was packed. The train decided to stop in a station for over an hour, and the driver didn't even make an announcement as to why ! Anyway there were these girls standing next to him, who were trying to impress some guys next to them. The girls kept pushing him and he said "If you don't stop I am going to get sick". Well they laughed at him and were like "Right". They should've taken him seriously because two minutes later he puked on them. I would have liked to see their faces then! Thankfully there was a doctor standing right near him and was able to get the girls to move, probably with some harsh words. and I am thankful that he is ok.

Thoughts from the RER B !

A few days ago when I was coming home, as if my trajet isn't long enought, the RER B decided to shut down. Ok not completely but it seemed like it. I was able to queeze on at Chatelet, only to discover the train would be leaving in 38 minutes !

The police were there circulating in case there were problems, but they didn't have information about the status of the train. And they really didn't help out when 2 men in my car started screaming and shouting at each other, because the one wanted to pull the alarm. But obviously the alarm was not going to work because the train wouldn't be moving anytime soon.

Finally after 15 minutes, the train started but it was only going to gare du nord and not to Aulnay Sous Bois, my stop.

Gare du Nord was a zoo, the police were blocking the entrances and exits to the train that would eventually leave (who knows if the train actually ever left the station, I didn't stick around to see) the platform. I went up to the floor where the train would be leaving and found it to be a mob scene. So, I was forced to take the rer e and the tram, meaning an extra hour and a half and then the bus !

Sometimes living in the suburbs is nice because life is not so busy and stressful as Paris. But it sucks when the transportation system fails because its like "let's see how many people we can squish in a train!"

Do you have any RER B stories ?