The Top Floor Flat

Shepherds Bush Central Line opened this week,
It made all of W12 glad.
I thought, “oh hurray, good for you TFL”
It’s the best transport news that I’ve had.

That first happy morning I shuffled through queues,
Down the escalator shiny and new.
I cut twenty minutes of my morning commute
And, believe me, everyone at my work knew.

The second day running, I hopped on at Bank,
Pleased with my quicker trip home.
I didn’t believe there’d be anything wrong
With my transport of silver and chrome.

Imagine my pain as at Holland Park station
The conductor came over the speaker
He said that the next stop was already closed
My outlook could not have been bleaker.

The very next morning I said “one more go
I can’t write of this station just yet.
I’ll still save some time on my morning commute,
And really, how bad could it get?”

The station was open, the website had said,
And from just ‘cross the street it looked fine
But a horde of pedestrians stood at the crosswalk
so confused, I just stood in the line.

It turned out the signals, the red and the green,
Were not to be working that day.
So the commutes stood there, as the cars just whizzed past,
Wondering when they could get on their way.

A single brave soul darted out in the road,
The buses did skid to a halt.
The rest of us followed, glad that we weren’t the ones
Nearly ground into asphalt.

The station was open, the train came in fine
And I was just left quite bemused
Why someone had turned off the signals we needed
To cross that road everyone used.

So Shepherd’s Bush Station, I’m glad that you’re here
And I’m glad the improvements are there.
But to the powers that be with the light switches,
Please have a slight bit of care.

Don’t close the station the day after it’s done,
And please note to update the maps.
Don’t turn off the signals we need right outside,
And for our part, we’ll mind the gap.