You thought travel precision was simply about arriving at the right place at the right time, didn't you? I'm about to tell you how wrong you are.
I looked with a degree of incredulity at my friend and neighbour, MrB-H, when he told me that when he was in Japan he derived no small amount of satisfaction from tailoring his daily commute on the train to make his journey as step-perfect as possible.
I thought that this was just MrB-H being a little quirky and gave it no further thought.
Imagine, then, my surprise (well, that sounds so much better than 'horror', doesn't it?) when a trip with S from Hitchin to Brighton was peppered with precision requirements about where one gets on and off a train in order to faciliate the next leg of the journey.
I'm pretty easy-going with such things and took these minor things in my stride, but gave S a wry smile.
Since then I've made the journey to and from Hitchin a number of times and had to build in variations due to engineering works on London Underground.
Something happens when you make the same train journey a lot...especially when it involves travelling on the underground. You start to notice that where you get on the train affects how stressful the next leg of your journey will be.
You see the typical tube train is maybe 6 carriages long and there are several entrances and exits along the length of the platform.
For maximum potential space in the carriage the usual widsom says get on at one end or other of the platform - avoiding the mid train (and last minute joiner) crush. The only problem with that approach is that if you get on at the wrong end it can make your onward much more tricky.
By tricky I mean longer and with greater exposure to people moving VERY SLOWLY with wheelie cases. If you're in a rush to get across the city, then that can make a big difference.
On the Hammersmith and City platform at King's Cross St Pancras the choice of platform end means the potential of an extra 5 minutes of fabulously obfuscating signage and the probability of missing the next connection north.
So it was with a great deal of satifaction last Friday when I found the prime spot to get on my underground train on platform 16 at Paddington, making my egress at Kings Cross a pleasant, and stress-free experience. A mental note has been made.
It's filed away with the local knowledge that there's a sweet spot on Hitchin platform 1. You get on the train south (as long as the train is an 8 carriage job) from here and when you arrive at Finsbury Park you will find yourself right next to the steps that lead quickly and efficiently to the Victoria underground line. Get out first and you'll be on the tube with no queueing, no wheelie suitcases or bikes having attacked you.
Next time I make the journey I shall be turning my attention to the return journey transfer at Oxford Circus...
...what? Don't look at me like that - you would too...trust me.
