Today is Thursday. After four days of staying in the same place, it is once again time to change locations. Thanks to the company for which nothing is too heavy and no distance too far, the one that connects people, it should be possible to travel between two cities in a very short time at almost breathtaking speed.

Well. That is, unless the railway fairy is not well disposed toward you. In that case, she plays her wildest games with you, bringing you dangerously close to the edge of madness. I used to think broken seats were as bad as it gets, but today the railway fairy prepared a very special treat for me. She made it clear early on that this would be a special day.

At Düsseldorf station, disaster announced itself in the form of a 30-minute delay. When the train finally arrived some 40 minutes later, a friendly voice over the loudspeaker asked for our understanding, explaining that the train would be running “in two separate parts” today. One train, arriving on two platforms.

To add to the excitement, the voice also announced which carriages would be standing on which tracks. The joy this triggered among the passengers is beyond what words can describe. The fact that a trade fair was currently taking place in Düsseldorf probably contributed to the train suffering from a certain sense of overindulgence.

When we asked the conductor, he explained that the problem was not particularly serious. The first part of the train was simply operating at 50 percent engine power. However, thanks to an extremely clever maneuver by the train crew, the issue could be resolved: both parts of the train would be coupled together in Cologne.

That would mean 100 percent power from the first part plus 50 percent from the second, resulting in a total of 150 percent power. This increase in performance, we were assured, would be sufficient to still arrive in Mannheim on time.

Impressive how the railway manages to suspend the laws of physics, wouldn’t you agree?