A HILARIOUS misunderstanding left a London commuter baffled after a train appeared to be displaying an estimated journey time of 9 years and 59 days.
The unnamed commuter was boarding the Elizabeth line to Paddington from Manor Park yesterday when the potted the digital display on the side of the train.
Showing the code 9Y59, the commuter assumed some sort of glitch or mistake had resulted in a shockingly long journey time.
An image shows the train stopped at the platform with its doors open, waiting for passengers to board.
The confusion came from the digital sign, displaying large orange writing, on the side of the train which can be seen in the photograph.
The top line reads “Paddington 9Y59” and the bottom “Next stop Forest Gate” leaving the confused commuter to assume the sign was displaying an ETA for Paddington.
Taking to social media to crack a joke, the blunder was set right by users in the know, who explained that it was in fact a “headcode” to identify the train.
The commuter shared the snap to social media yesterday with the caption: “9 years 59 days to reach Paddington? Any other possible route where I can reach faster?”
The post received over 155 likes and dozens of comments from social media users who cracked jokes about the lengthy journey before explaining the mix-up.
One user quipped: “It’s not in 9 years, don’t be ridiculous. It was due to leave in the year 9, day 59. It’s just running a couple of millennia late.”
Another joked: “That’s pretty typical for London transport.”
A third explained: “This is how we identify each train, the headcode changes for each trip e.g. Shenfield to Pad will be a headcode like that, 9Y59, and then from Paddington back to Abbey Wood let’s say, it would be another headcode.
“They cycle around up to 99 then loop round back to 01. It’s how we set up our radio so the signaller can reach us individually as well.”
Offering a solution, another wrote: “Walking?”
A fifth commented: “It’s the train identification number (headcode).”
