"On The Train" is a poem by Gillian Clarke. Its chief subject matter is the Paddington rail crash and its aftermath.[1]
The poem imagines commuters on the train heading towards the "bone-ship" and refers to the anxiety of passengers and loved ones alike in the days following the disaster. Clarke uses the technology of 1999 to ground her poem in reality - the mobile phones of the victims lie in the wreckage of the train while their friends and family frantically try to ring them. She quotes the phrase:
"The Vodafone you are calling
May have been switched off.
Please call later."
This everyday phrase takes on a new, more sinister meaning in context. Clarke concludes the poem by taking a lenient view, post-Paddington, of train passengers who make mobile phone calls - they no longer seem irritating, merely essential for reassuring people that they are still alive.
This poem was written soon after the mobile phone boom of the late 1990s and as such is one of the first comments on the phenomenon. Two years later, mobile phones would again be closely linked with tragedy during the September 11 attacks.
The poem has been included in the AQA Anthology for study at GCSE alongside several other of Gillian Clarke's poems. It is one of a number of Clarke poems - including "A Difficult Birth" and "The Field-Mouse" - that comment on contemporary events alongside the minutiae of Clarke's own life.
"OnTheTrain" is a poem by Gillian Clarke. Its chief subject matter is the Paddington rail crash and its aftermath. The poem imagines commuters on the...
as wagons. Trains are designed to a certain gauge, or distance between rails. Most trains operate on steel tracks with steel wheels, the low friction...
"TrainonTrain" (トレイン・オン・トレイン, Torein on Torein) is a concept for piggybacking (that is, carrying narrow-gauge wagons on broader-gauge flatwagons) by...
The Girl ontheTrain may refer to: The Girl ontheTrain (novel), a 2015 novel by Paula Hawkins The Girl ontheTrain (2016 film), an American film based...
TrainTrain may refer to: Train+Train, a 2000 Japanese light novel series Train*Train, a manga by Eiki Eiki "Train, Train" (The Count Bishops song), 1976...
TheTrain may refer to: TheTrain (1964 film), an American war film starring Burt Lancaster and Paul Scofield TheTrain (1970 film), an Indian Hindi suspense...
Look up Train or train in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. A Train may refer to: The A (New York City Subway service) A Division (New York City Subway)...
Graffiti ontheTrain is the eighth studio album by Welsh rock band Stereophonics. Produced by the group's lead-singer and guitarist Kelly Jones and Jim...
(The) Man ontheTrain may refer to: The Man ontheTrain (2002 film), a French crime-drama film Man ontheTrain (2011 film), a Canadian crime-drama film...
"This Train", also known as "This Train Is Bound for Glory", is a traditional American gospel song first recorded in 1922. Although its origins are unknown...
and Hart Bochner. The film follows a group of pre-medical school students holding a New Year's Eve costume party on a moving train who are targeted by...
or other rapid transit systems. Train station is the terminology typically used in the U.S. In Europe, the terms train station and railway station are...
freight train, also called a goods train or cargo train, is a railway train that is used to carry cargo, as opposed to passengers. Freight trains are made...
Look up Trainer or trainer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Trainer may refer to: Trainer (album), an album released by Plaid in 2000 Trainer (TV series)...
El train or L Train may refer to: An Elevated railway The Chicago "L", a rapid transit system The Market–Frankford Line in Philadelphia, commonly called...
On June 2, 2023, three trains collided in Balasore district in Odisha state of eastern India. The Coromandel Express entered the passing loop instead of...
Snakes on a Train is a 2006 direct-to-video action thriller horror film released by The Asylum as a mockbuster on August 15, 2006. Aspects of the film are...
Look up bullet train in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Bullet train may refer to: Shinkansen high-speed trains of Japan, nicknamed for their appearance...
The Great Train Robbery may refer to: Great Train Robbery (1963), of £2.6 million from a British train Great Gold Robbery, of gold worth £12,000 from a...