Never a dull moment on my first NEL ride

I TOOK my first ride on the North-East Line (NEL) at 9 pm on Saturday. After a somewhat-confusing walk from the Dhoby Ghaut MRT station, involving several escalators, some going up, and some down, I made it to the new station.

I boarded the spanking-new train with several middle-aged women and a family of three. After one stop, we were treated to a spectacular display of how well the doors had been made. The train stopped for 10 minutes at Farrer Park Station, seemingly for no other reason than to show us the doors' ability to open and close 10 times rapidly. This was followed by an announcement for passengers to alight and board the next train.

We all alighted and the train started to move off, prompting one of the women to comment, 'Now no people in the train, that's why can move.'

The next train was rather packed. I managed to find space to step in, not a moment too soon. The doors closed barely four seconds after they opened, separating the family of three.

The train must have been on a very strict and precise timetable because the couple outside banging on it were ignored and left behind as we sped away with their child.

The other passengers in the train must have sensed the operator's unyielding schedule and jostled to get ready at the doors even before we reached the next station. Imagine their horror when the train pulled into the station and they were greeted by a sign stuck on the station door saying, 'Door Faulty. Please use next door'. There was a small stampede to get to the next door before the four seconds were up.

The rest of my trip was spent eyeing the doors, trying to guess which might correspond to a faulty door at my destination. All in all, it was a very interesting ride.

CHIANG SEOK PHENG (MADAM)