Vocabulary - The Train

Here is some useful vocabulary related to TRAINS.

Train ticket - this

is what you buy from the ticket office. Have you noticed how tickets mysteriously disappear when the inspector comes to check them?

Platform - this is where the train should leave from. Finding your platform when you’re in a rush is impossible.

Track - these are the lines that the train goes on. A common excuse in Britain for cancelling trains is that there are “too many leaves on the track”. Have you ever heard such a pathetic excuse?

Waiting room -

this is supposedly the warm place where you can wait in comfort. However, British waiting rooms are always cold.

A return ticket - this

ticket allows you to travel to your destination and back again. Don’t lose it!

A one-way ticket -

this ticket allows you to travel to your destination… and not back again. In Britain, it’s often cheaper to get a return ticket, even if you’re just going one way.

Lost-luggage office

- in theory, this is where you go if you lose your bag or any other object. In practice, if you lose something, you can be guaranteed that you’ll never see it again.

Left-luggage office -

this is where you can pay to leave your bags so you don’t have to carry them with you when you go around the town.

Information desk

- there’s one of these in most stations, and the friendly staff here will answer all your questions. Of course, there’s usually a long, long queue and by the time you get the information you want, your train has already left.

Ticket vendor -

these are the people who sell you the ticket. One question: why do they work behind glass screens? Are they afraid of us?

Porter - these are the people who kindly offer to help you carry your bags… and charge you a bomb to do it.

A ticket machine -

these electronic machines are supposed to save time, but they rarely work, and they often have a sign on them that says, “no change given”.

A monthly pass -

these are designed to save the frequent traveller lots of money… and they do. Miracles can happen!

A cheap day return -

this ticket allows you to travel on the train very cheaply to and from a place… but only at the most inconvenient times - usually between 11am and 3pm.

G L O S S A R Y

in a rush exp if you are “in a rush”, you need to get somewhere very quickly a leaf n (plural: leaves) leaves grow on trees to charge you a bomb exp to charge you a lot of money change n metal coins that you use in machines