To Q or not to Q

[portarlington_user]

Monday 12 December

Arrived at Hueston at 20 past 6 to get the 18:35 hours train to Portarlington which I think is the Limerick train. I figured I had enough time to queue for a coffee from Butlers to help with the freezing cold up that end of the station while waiting to board the train. So after picking out a nice free chocolate I hiked up to platform 7 at about half past. As usual not only was the actual train nowhere to be seen but the queue to get on it was halfway down the taxi drop-off area. Past experience told me not to even bother queuing because as this is such a usual occurrence I knew they'd just open the two doors and not check the tickets and just let people on. I was right, there was a big gathering up near the doors and a big rush once they were opened - every man for himself. Do I feel guilty for technically skipping the queue? Not a bit! Whether that's right or wrong, I don't care. A few of the day-drippers doing their Christmas shopping were throwing a few dirty looks at the regulars alright for skipping the queue but nobody looked like they cared and I knew I certainly didn't. Within the space of 5 minutes the whole crowd was on the train and we left not too much after 25 to 7.

1. Why does this train never board on time? As far as I've seen it's always a big rush job at the last minute
2. Do situations like this make it alright to skip queues? Should I have stood like an eejit at the end of the queue while everyone else hung around near the door pretending to be queuing for something else? I have to admit I'm a serial queue skipper, although only in certain situations. If a train is boarding on time and in a normal way then obviously I queue. But at the first sign of a crowding problem or delay of some sort I hear myself saying, feck it, I pay €2300 a year for this crap, I'm going to make sure I at least get a seat for my money. Should I feel bad about this??