Technology helps the train go -- right past the station!

I've always been slow to adopt new technology, partly because I know how quickly I become dependent on it. Just the other day, I needed to switch the channel on TV and spent 10 minutes searching for the remote. Then it finally occurred to me: why not just ask one of my kids to walk up to the TV and push the buttons there?

Technology can make our lives easier, but it can also make them more complicated. Just ask the passengers on a British train:

Passengers on a Southern service from East Croydon were stunned when they were told that their stopping train would skip six stations and go direct to the end of the line in Caterham, Surrey.

When they got there the driver said the reason was that the train had lost its satellite link.

Because some stations have shorter platforms than others it meant that he could not open the right doors at every station on the route. The loss of the satellite link meant that passengers who had wanted stations in between had to wait half an hour for another train.

One passenger said: “It’s absolutely bizarre. We now have trains that can’t let the passengers out because they fail to pick up signals from outer space.”

A spokesman for Southern said: “A lot of our trains have GPS which recognises where the train is and allows it to open the doors at the station, depending on the length of the train and the length of the platform.”

He added: “Doors can be opened manually in an emergency but we would not recommend it at other times.” [Link]

They're a little too dependent on technology, wouldn't you say? But they're not the only ones, of course. Don't be surprised if you ask a Wal-Mart employee to show you where the coffee-makers are kept and he says, "Sorry, I can't help you. My GPS isn't working."

Photo by asplosh