Travel and Transport

The Notwork Rail guide to your railway station.

Notwork Rail

  1. Ticket Vending Machine
    Replica of real ticket machine, absolutely correct in every detail, including the fact that it will not dispense tickets. Driven by software that once revolutionized the programming of toasters.
  2. Ghost Train Passenger
    Every railway has a ghost train story, but British ghost train services are often dogged by strikes and the disruption affects passengers caught in the twin limbos of rail travel and expiry. They face a long and fruitless death floating towards any light that takes their fancy. Awayday tickets are not valid on this service.
  3. Automated Sincere Apology System
    Computer-generated announcements about how fundamentally shagged the rail system is today. A public-address system is also integrated so that live announcements with unforeseen words and phrases such as “early” or “on schedule” can still be made.
  4. Impenetrable Signalling System
    An ingenious semaphore-based messaging system principally used to send off-colour jokes and rude observations about Notwork Rail management up and down the country.
  5. The Tracks
    Due to complex franchising arrangements, the offside rail is owned by a Portsmouth man who bought it at a jumble sale. The nearside rail is owned by RightRail who lease it to LeftRail plc who, in order to promote dynamic, blue-sky environments of risk taking, often use it as a stake in back-room poker games at international rail conferences.
  6. Architect’s Illustration Model
    As used for original artist’s impression of the station, and now retained because he makes everything look fantastically cool. He is 6ft tall, comes condensed for extra effect and is known as Jeff. Budget for Jeff comes from the Black Projects Division of Notwork Rail.
  7. Maintenance Crew
    Seven man team responsible for hanging around at the end of platforms in day-glo jackets and shaking their heads in disbelief as they attempt to repair infrastructure with bits of old Meccano and bicycle lamps. Many escaped when British Rail was privatised and are now feral on the nation's railways, living in remote huts and scavenging for teabags tossed from passing buffet cars.

Leaked by sources close to: Sir Edward Bicycle on Jul 16, 06 | 9:56 am

Facebook

 Send me feedback/contact me.
 Permanent link to this article

  Stumble It! | Britain: What A State | The Myway Code

 

Custom Search

 

"Thank God: a book that's both clever and funny. Deserves a place on the lap of every comedy fan in Britain." Charlie Brooker
"If you wince at the word 'benchmark', this neat parody could be just the thing to cheer you up." Sunday Telegraph Magazine

 

Latest travel bulletin


Roads
The A1 Northbound at Doncaster was disrupted after a highways maintenance lorry shed its load of filter signs, creating over 200 lanes on the carriageway. Police say that vehicles over the width of two inches should seek an alternative route.

Rail
Services in and around London are liable to delays today for the Rubik's Rail Challenge - a brain twisting game of strategy based on the Rubik's Cube. Arriving for work this morning, signalmen discover the Strategic Rail Authority have changed all the points to divert incoming trains around the capital to the wrong stations. Changing one set of points at a time, they must restore order.

Buses
Service 88 will now be known as service 67 after a cost-cutting review.