Thankfully, I'd had some decent train action in the couple of weeks immediately before this date - I'd travelled on an EMR HST from London St Pancras to Nottingham to go and sit my university exams, before travelling back to London to see a show and then up to Manchester for a Careers event immediately before that final trip.
So to say I've missed being on a train is an understatement. But I understand the reasons why I must stay away for now. Unfortunately there's no easy place for me to even go and spot - I'd be looking at around an hour's walk and it would only be class 377's and 700's (Southern and Thameslink). Not that I don't like those trains, I do, but if I'm going to go and stand and spot I'd kind of like a bit more variety. Or more than 8 trains an hour (4 each way).
But then, the opportunity arose for me to go on a train.
I had an interview for a job (which I didn't get), which required me to get a train to Croydon and then a tram. It was a key worker role, hence why my journey was definitely essential for the interview. It was possible for me to be dropped at the local station, so I didn't need to get a bus there or anything, but my Mum was definitely not prepared to make the 45 minute journey each way (particularly when I was only meant to be at the job an hour, so she'd have to sit and wait for me) as she is working from home at the moment. So I had to go on the train and tram.
I planned on being at the station 40 minutes before the train I wanted to get, and that itself got me into Croydon just over an hour before the interview, which considering I wouldn't need to wait more than 10 minutes at the most for a tram ride lasting 10 minutes, was plenty. It was even only a 30 minute walk to my destination from the railway station, so I had ample time to get there. I wanted to have time to queue, what with it being the first day of shops opening, in case there were queues to get onto trains and trams to maintain social distancing.
But I walked straight onto a train 25 minutes before I was planning on, arriving in Croydon 90 minutes before my interview. I then walked to the Sainsburys local next to the station to get a drink before getting on the tram. I ended up sitting at the tram stop for almost 40 minutes before walking to my interview. On the way home, I arrived at the tram stop at the same time as the tram and my only hiccup was the slight wait for a train home.
It was the first day where face coverings were mandatory on public transport in England and I was pleased to see that most people were wearing them. There are a limited number of exceptions and therefore I couldn't really challenge the few people I saw who weren't wearing them. And the trains were empty enough that people were easily able to socially distance. And I felt perfectly safe.
So, while it's important that we stay at home as enthusiasts until it's safe to do so (unless of course we have the occasional essential trip in the meantime), I felt perfectly safe travelling on Monday. And, if it's safe for me to travel for the trips I have planned in the autumn (although who knows if the theatres will have reopened), I will be doing so, knowing how to keep myself and others as safe as possible in this strange time.
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