Race Against The Clock - Part II

 

       

                                    Race Against The Clock - Part II

I had travelled for nearly 12 hrs and had completed 16 cantons…… 

Now let's continue our journey.

Now, the pace increased, as I had to take 3 fast long distance trains. From Landquart, the fast InterCity IC 3 to Zurich with just one stop at Sargans and then in 11 mins catch the EuroCity EC to Milan in Italy, step off the train at Zug in the canton with the same name, to tick off canton number 17 and finally cross the 57 km long Gotthard Base tunnel, the world’s longest railway tunnel, and reach Bellinzona in Ticino canton (Canton number 18). 

I could just give a quick look around this beautiful location before I had to catch 5 mins later, my train back. The ride through Gotthard takes nearly 16 mins of total darkness with, ones ears popping with pressure and a loud rumble as the train barrels through in the bowels of the Alps and echoes of its move can be heard. 

I enjoyed a cold beer and Silserzopfli bread with a vegan schnitzel as I ran through the day in my mind. We reached across the Alps and immediately I had to step off the train at Altdorf for a moment to complete canton number 19 namely Uri and soon arrived at my destination Arth Goldau in Schwyz canton with which I counted off Canton number 20.

It was past 8 pm now and 4 mins after getting down at Arth Goldau I caught the train to Luzern (which incidentally was canton number 21). And here is where I made the fastest (or I thought) connection to the next train. I waited impatiently as the train stopped at Luzern and the doors opened automatically but agonisingly slowly and burst out like a bat out of hell. From Platform 7 to platform 14, I sprinted as fast as my nearly 64 year old legs could carry me. I could see people gawk at a bald old man sprinting as if his tail was on fire, a scene which the sedate Swiss rarely get to see. As the doors of suburban S-Bahn train S5 were closing, I managed to squeeze in, in time. A record 1 minute changeover!!!

Totally breathless from the run, I smiled to myself and sat quietly pleased at how I had managed to get half an hour savings in my time table with this run of mine. If everything went well, at Alpnachstad, I would be able to perform this feat again with a zero minute changeover. This was my second out and back trip. I hardly remember this short journey, except for stepping off at Hergiswil in Nidwalden canton (Number 22) and getting off at Alpnachstad in Obwalden canton (Number 23) at 8.41 pm. The return train, as per schedule, would be waiting in the opposite platform. But fate had something else in store for me.

Platform 1 and 2 in this small station, do not share the same - Platform. I had to rush from out of the train get down the stairs, run through an underpass, climb out ‘outside’ the station and then rush in, just to see the 8.41 pm Alpnachstad - Luzern train pulling away. It was actually a zero-minute changeover which even Swiss Rail does not believe can be done. I had lost the half an hour I had gained since now I had to wait for the same amount of time for the next train. 

I think it was all for the good. I got the first 30 minutes in the entire day to actually sit and look around. Alpnachstad sits on the southern end of the Alpnachsersee (Lake Alpnach). With the sun on its way to set, the serene lake, the cool wind blowing across it, the hiss of wheels of the cars on the highway close by, kind of lulled me. I shook myself awake. I did not want to miss the return train. And it arrived exactly on schedule and I proceeded towards the last leg of my trip, back to Luzern.

This time in Luzern I had all the time in the world - 8 full mins to do what I had done in 45 seconds an hour earlier. I got to my seat and waited for the departure at 8.54 pm of the IC 21 train. When the train did not move by 9 pm, I felt kind of jittery. This train was to drop me at Olten at 9.29 pm from where I would get the train home at 10.40 pm. Still do-able I felt.  By the time the train finally started moving at 9.10 pm, I was in full blown panic. 16 minutes late. The whole day, the trains had run with Swiss precision, on time. And now, 16 mins late. There was no way I could catch my connecting IC 5 at Olten even though I had a 11 min changeover. 

The lady conductor came to check the tickets and I told her my predicament. She understood and looked at the movement of the other train on her mobile, then looked at me with sad eyes and said that it was not possible to make the connection. She apologised profusely for the delay which was none of their fault but I realised that she felt an ownership to the company in which she was working. 

My whole plan had collapsed in the last leg. I would reach home by only 1.51 am instead of the planned 0.41 am. I tried looking at all other options but they all revealed that just waiting for one hour in Olten was the best one. 

As the announcement of the next halt at Olten sounded I tiredly went down from the upper deck of the train and found the lady conductors, two of them sitting there. The board behind them showed the bus and train connections from Olten to various other destinations. And what I saw, shook me awake. The train from Bern which I had to catch at Olten was 5 mins late. 11 plus 5 equals 16. We started 16 mins late. Maybe I could still catch it. I pointed the same to them and then something astonishing happened. 

They jumped out of the seat and one of them opened a panel with telephone in it. In rapid German she spoke probably to her own engine driver or someone. I could just about understand about ‘one passenger to Renens’. 

The other one came to me, touched me in my forearm gently, smiled and said “Ju will kach ze tren”. 

My train stopped and I pressed the door open button 4-5 times, expecting it to open faster, the way I press the remote at home to change TV channels. It opened with Swiss precision, slowly, in its own time. I jumped out of the train and turned to run to the underpass since this train was to stop in Platform 4 and the connecting train was to be on Platform 8. Suddenly I heard screaming from behind. The lady conductor was gesticulating to me and pointing at the train standing right across - my train from Olten to home. We had halted on Platform 9. What a stroke of good luck! 

I stopped, turned and rushed to the train whose doors were closing with a finality, the beeps signalling probably that I was a wee-bit late. I reached the door and pressed the door opening button. The green light blinked rapidly and the door opened slowly, welcoming me in. With a smile I jumped in and turned. 

The smiles of the two lady conductors from across the platform as they waved at me filled my heart with gratitude. I waved back as the door closed. I waved one last time through the large glass door and got to my seat. I was back on track.

The ride to Neuchatel was uneventful. What a feeling as I stepped out at 11.41 pm on to the Neuchatel platform to the 24th canton of the day. 18 hrs 54 mins of near non-stop train ride across Switzerland. I was thrilled how it all fell into place. I jumped back into the train and soon the gentle sway of the train as it sped away taking the turns made me wonder if I was feeling giddy. That is when realisation struck me. I was sitting in one of the Inter City high speed tilting trains. It is another wonder of Swiss railways. 

The train whizzed through the dark and tiny spots of lights glowing larger as we approached Renens told me it was time to get down and catch the next train coming from Lausanne. The RE 33 in which I had made my first ride of the day also was the last one for the day as it coasted to halt in Renens. I jumped in for the short 6 min ride to Morges. At 0.41 am, just short of 20 hours after I had left from Morges I stepped back on to the same platform. And that is when it dawned on me. 

The train from Olten which had been 5 minutes late had quietly made up minutes through the night while I didn't even notice, helped me catch the connecting train at Renens and on to Morges. I realized, in the end I was still exactly on time, as planned on my Excel sheet. Just Swiss precision reasserting itself right when I had stopped expecting it.

One Full cycle. One country. One Day. One Saver Day Pass. 

One crazy old man and his ride.