IV post: anyone can drive trains in Canada...

So im waiting at the trainstation one cold day heading downtown, which is the equivalent to melbournes CBD.. the rail service here is called Skytrains.. because the trains run on an elevated ramp.. kind of like a monorail but there is more than one rail, hence its a dual rail.. so im waiting at the station and a train comes round the corner in the distance.. now in melbourne im used to seeing some disheveld met train worker nonchalantly navigating the trains along melbournes extensive rail system.. and in canada i expect to see the same..

the train neared me.. and the driver of the train slowly came into focus.. the first thing i noticed about the conducter was the size and sex of her.. she was obviously a female since i just said 'her' and she was small.. she looked about the size of a 12 year old.. the train started slowing down so more and more details started to materialize in front of me.. i notice what the driver was wearing.. it was a light blue parker with a fluffy hood.. this struck me as odd.. first of all the colour of the parka and not to mention the fluffy hood, but since im the stranger in this town i was in no position to pass comment on anyone..

as the train pulled to a stop the full severity of the situation and the full picture of the driver became shockingly clear..

1. she was a small female that appeared to be asian
2. she was wearing a fashionable parka and didnt seem to match the colour scheme of the train system and the ticket people
3. and she was about 12 years old..

so this train, as it appeared to me.. was being controlled by a 12 year old asian girl with a light blue parka and laid back attitude..

this was something that puzzled me for quite some time.. but since i was the touro i accepted it and stepped onto the train..

now a couple of days later i was back on the skytrain platform.. this time the train came round the bend and there was no driver at all.. im thinking to myself that something fucked up is happening.. like the child drivers had afterschool sport or something.. so i decide to climb aboard the front carriage to get to the bottom of this.. what do i find when i get there? an empty seat..

this i thought was pretty damn cool.. the skytrains are all automated and they put a seat where the driver would normally sit.. so dumb arse tourists like me, and asian kids can sit there and pretend to drive the train.. its a mad view and enclosed is a photo of me driving my very own skytrain from commercial drive to port moody...

super word coolness