Reason 52: The Gymnastics of Train Climbing

100 Reasons I'm Retiring

I travel regional rail every day from a sleepy little town in Delco where the station hasn’t changed in 70 years. So while newer stations might have a raised platform that lines up with level of the train door, my station does not. Thus, in order to board the train in the morning, I need to raise my foot up about 12 inches off the ground while grabbing one of the safety rails and holding my schoolbag, then manuveur myself up three steps through a series of rails and grabs.

It is not for someone whose knees have seen better days.

This all becomes a bit more difficult if the train engineer has overshot the little three- inch concrete step provided to make stepping up into the train easier.

Getting off the train is a bit easier but still has it’s challenges since the other side of the track has no little three-inch step!

Have you taken public transportation to or from work? What’s been your biggest challenge?