[00:01.040]--- lesson 37 The westhaven Express
[00:06.640]--- Listen to the tape then answer the question below.
[00:12.360]--- What was the mistake the author made?
[00:17.520]We have learnt to expect that trains will be punctual.
[00:21.880]After years of conditioning, most of us have developed an unshakable faith in railway timetables.
[00:29.680]Ships may be delayed by storms;
[00:32.680]flights may be cancelled because of bad weather, but trains must be on time.
[00:38.640]Only an exceptionally heavy snowfall might temporarily dislocate railway services.
[00:44.960]It is all too easy to blame the railway authorities when something does go wrong.
[00:50.440]The truth is that when mistakes occur, they are more likely to be ours than theirs.
[00:57.280]After consulting my railway timetable, I noted with satisfaction that there was an express train to Westhaven.
[01:05.880]It went direct from my local station and the journey lasted a mere hour and seventeen minutes.
[01:12.760]When I boarded the train, I could not help noticing that a great many local people got on as well.
[01:19.960]At the time, this did not strike me as odd.
[01:23.200]I reflected that there must be a great many people besides myself who wished to take advantage of this excellent service.
[01:31.560]Neither was I surprised when the train stopped at Widley, a tiny station a few miles along the line.
[01:39.240]Even a mighty express train can be held up by signals.
[01:43.760]But when the train dawdled at station after station, I began to wonder.
[01:49.320]It suddenly dawned on me that this express was not roaring down the line at ninety miles an hour, but barely chugging along at thirty.
[01:59.800]One hour and seventeen minutes passed and we had not even covered half the distance.^1
[02:05.840]I asked a passenger if this was the Westhaven Express, but he had not even heard of it.
[02:13.080]I determined to lodge a complaint as soon as we arrived.
[02:17.160]Two hours later, I was talking angrily to the station master at Westhaven.
[02:22.800]When he denied the train's existence, I borrowed his copy of the timetable.
[02:28.040]There was a note of triumph in my voice when I told him that it was there in black and white.
[02:34.480]Glancing at it briefly, he told me to look again.
[02:38.680]A tiny asterisk conducted me to a footnote at the bottom of the page.
[02:44.040]It said: 'This service has been suspended.'