Funny Dutch Train Announcements – Surprise Train
Our train from Rotterdam to Berlin has been standing the middle of nowhere for the past two minutes. Just as I start to wonder what is going on the train’s intercom clicks into action and a young lady on the other end starts to explain the situation. At first she explains things in German and I do not understand a word. Then she explains things in Dutch and I understand a bit of it (my wife nods knowingly). Finally she explains everything in English and I start to listen properly.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we apologise for the delay and thank you for your patience. The track ahead of us is in use. Before we can continue we must wait for the other train to pass and…”
A passenger train suddenly tares past at high speed with perfect comical timing, cutting her off mid sentence.
“… Oh. Was that it?” the lady exclaims in surprise and suddenly clicks the intercom off as if in embarrassment. A few people in the train carriage start to chuckle.
A second later the intercom clicks back on again and the lady returns. This time she definitely sounds embarrassed which might have something to do with the co-worker we can hear laughing hysterically and uncontrollably in the back ground as she tries to talk.
“Ladies and gentlemen. We are waiting for a different train to pass us. Thank you for your patience.”
The intercom quickly clicks off again and the train carriage bursts into laughter.
Read more funny Dutch train announcements: Unexpected Landing.
haha funny :) I think you mean patience though. Unless the train was full of doctors… although I’d be a bit worried if the train was full of doctors willing to hand over their patients in return for a better travel time! :P
Haha. It would be very unethical but sound like the kind of thing House would do. Thanks for spotting the mistake. I’ve fixed it now.
I like it when they do that on the trams as well. Sometimes they start singing the names of the next stop.
I feel sorry for that poor woman. “Oh, was that it? Nevermind.”
Still, I would have laughed had I been in that situation as well. Ha!
Lol! I sometimes notice that the announcements on trains here in the NL tend to sound so relaxed and friendly… it’s like hearing your neighbour saying “heeeeey, buurvrouw!” from the other side of the fence! :D
It was very funny to be there. Maybe that just makes me a horrible person :p
The ticket collector on the train I was on the other day seemed quite chatty and friendly with a large group of students in the same car. They even seemed to cheer when he walked back through after checking all the tickets. Sadly, I couldn’t hear enough to figure out what was being said.
Alison – It’s so much nicer when they are friendly like that :)
Jason – I’ve been on the Fyra as well when they have done that and it turned out to be because they had a report of a swan on the tracks.
Awesome. I remember taking the Fyra to Rotterdam a few months back. I was the only person in the car, and the train came to a screeching halt in the middle of nowhere. A hurried announcement came on, in Dutch only, and then silence. We sat for 10 minutes with me getting more paranoid by the second. I kept expecting to see smoke coming from somewhere!
Alison- yesterday? Students with a studentcard weren’t alowed yesterday to use their card because it was the 5th of may…a holiday-day. A lot of students didn’t know. And a lot of them got to pay. Maybe he was nice and let them get away with it :D
Most times in Emgland if the train is stopped you are never told why. If they do bother its usually a very bored sounding man who sounds like he’s eating a toffee so you can’t understand him. Its sounds so much more fun on Dutch railways.
Dragonlady – They do make it a lot more entertaining that is true.
Great example of quality-not-quantity writing. A lovely and very telling miniature, Stu.