I guess probably the business of NEL is getting better. The peak hour crowd are like swamps of bees buzzing, walking in and out of the stations, jamming at the door even before the train reaches the station. Being a Northeast dweller, I had seen the best and worst of NEL. Broad, comfy seats and bright colors are the winning points over the north-south and east-west bound trains. Another thing I used to like about NEL is the volume of passengers. It wasn’t like now, so crowded and so full of kiasu people… it used to be very spacious, sufficient seats for everyone or ample space for standing. Now, the situation feels more and more like SMRT trains.
Everyday after I knock off, I would take a bus to Serangoon interchange, then continue the journey on the NEL. Sengkang is the 4th stop after Serangoon: – Kovan – Hougang – Buangkok – Sengkang.. people buzz in and out at Kovan and Hougang stations. But Buangkok is like a ghost town. If you hadn’t taken the NEL train during after-office peak hours, you would think that Buangkok is a bustling housing estate, cuz after the train door closed after Hougang Station, people start to jam at the door, just to get off number 1 at Sengkang station. But they forgot there is another station before that!! On a crowded train, if I were standing at the door, I would get off for a while to ease the alighting crowd before I step into the train again. If I were to do this at Buangkok station, I would appear like a fool. I quite dislike it when people appear like “can’t wait to get out of the train”. As if there is a bomb inside the train or Osama is simply one of our fellow passengers. Sometimes when I stand near the door (Cuz there is no space!!) I can feel people pushing me from the back. Aiya..! Cannot wait is it..! the train is still moving, do you think you can jump off..?!
Arggghhhh…. Why are Singaporeans so kiasu..?! I hope I wont feel ashamed to live in this city..!
