A local train nerd says he has “no regrets” about missing the birth of his first child so he could ride the inaugural service through Melbourne’s new Metro Tunnel.
Train nerd Brayden Carter told The Bendigo Standard on Sunday that he “wouldn’t trade a second” of being on the first train through the tunnel.
“I got to Sunbury Station at 3:15 a.m. to secure a spot on the first service,” said Carter, who received 30 missed calls from his partner during the event, each reminding him she had gone into labour. “Babies are born every day. A brand-new, state-of-the-art, nine-kilometre subterranean masterpiece? That’s once in a lifetime.”
Witnesses said Carter texted his partner “good luck, babe” before the first departure. Sources said he became emotional when the station announcement came over the speakers, whispering, “This is it… this is really it.” Calling it “a miracle of infrastructure.”
Carter described the first trip through the Metro Tunnel as “spiritual." But did not use the same adjective when informed that his daughter had been born healthy.
“She’ll understand,” he said. “One day I’ll tell her: ‘Daddy might not have been there for your birth, but he was there the first time a Sunbury service glided into Town Hall Station with perfect precision.’”
“You only get one chance to ride an inaugural service,” he added. “Babies? There are heaps of those.”
Carter arrived at the hospital four hours after the birth, showing midwives blurry photos of the tunnel instead of his newborn daughter.
At press time, Carter was reportedly completing his 50th loop of the Metro Tunnel and considering naming his daughter “Alstom” after the train manufacturer.
