Melbourne had a new rail operator since the start of the year. Many passengers like I had high hopes for this rail company headed by Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation, but instead of reducing cancellations and improving punctuality, railway operation has been going downhill recently. 墨爾本年初換了火車營運商，由港鐵公司為首的集團經營，本對其寄予希望，能減少火車脫班誤點，不過近來則每下愈況。 Last week there was a series of railway delays, and it struck when I least wanted. The trains decided to make a fool of me last Wednesday. I left work earlier than usual for a family occasion, but there was a problem with overhead power supply that was affecting train departures. I could sense something serious as the count-down timer for the next train had frozen, and I had to dust off my Plan B and took an unaffected train line so that my parents could pick me up somewhere else. (A Plan B is indispensable in Melbourne if one relies on public transport for the daily commute, and it will be practised at least 2 to 3 times a year.) It also didn’t help matters...