That's what the German railway officials said (I'm paraphrasing) as they refused a mother's plea to stop a train when her toddler was accidentally left on a train:
Ulrike Kracht, 19, had pleaded with Deutsche Bahn staff to somehow stop the train after its automatic doors closed at a station. She was unloading her possessions and pushchair before returning for Marie Luise when her way was blocked and the train began pulling away. [...]
She said two German railways employees banged frantically on the doors to try to get them open but without success. But when she asked to radio ahead to stop the train she says she was told: “We can't do that. It must run on schedule.“ Later a railways spokeswoman said: “There was no train coming back in the other direction anyway because of a strike.“
You just have to admire the German efficiency, don'tcha? Link - via Arbroath
You see, the Deutsche Bahn corporation has had quite some trouble during the winter, and even without snow, trains tend to be _not_ on time more often than they are. Which makes the refusal to stop the train a quite hypocritical affair.
At least they phoned the train conductor who found the girl and took care of her while the police raced the mother to the next possible rendezvous point, seven (!) stations further. The corporation has issued an official excuse to the mother.
So there, German efficiency at its best. (/sarcasm)
@Max Power - because you've never ever made a mistake, right?
How about accidents on the freeway, Stuart? Why should all the rest of the drivers be inconvenienced by someone's careless mistake that led to a pile up? Why should they give the right of way to an ambulance and lose precious minutes?
Ze train. It has to be on time.
I do hope this was an oversight on the part of the DB, as it would be a very special circumstance. And I am glad to hear that the little girl was ok in the end.
"You see, the Deutsche Bahn corporation has had quite some trouble during the winter, and even without snow, trains tend to be _not_ on time more often than they are. Which makes the refusal to stop the train a quite hypocritical affair."
I don't know where you live. In Berlin most trains are on time. More often than not.
And hypocrisy? Really? Because if the train is already late it doesn't matter if it's another 5 minutes later, even though you complain about the supposed constant delay?
I'm guessing you don't have children ;)
You're welcome :)
@Max
Incidentally, yes, really. I didn't complain, I just stated a fact. If you go through the country by InterCity trains on a regular basis, it is indeed a very unusual thing to see a train coming in on time a few stations down. We celebrate every time my partner comes in on time - and believe me, we haven't celebrated very often. Complaining, however, won't help. You get used to it. (Many Germans complain nevertheless, though.)
So my point is: if the train is already late, or if any other train is regularly late, why make such a fuss in case of a real emergency? And having a two-year-old alone is indeed enough of an emergency that I would gladly stop a train to avert it. Two minutes, for heaven's sake. Where have we got to if a train full of people doesn't have two minutes to spare in order to reunite a mother with her child? What's more important? The timetable? Gimme a break.