My only worry was that although the trains may well have been running on time he would still manage to miss them all.
In my understanding this sentence means "it doesn't matter whether or not the trains are on time, he'd manage to miss them all anyway." I can't see any judgement on whether the trains are usually late or not here.
Another possible reading seems to be "the trains are usually late, but even if they were on time for once, he'd still miss them all."
What's your opinion on this?
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donald remero
[ Moderator ]
I think your first reading is basically the correct one. For me at least, there's nothing in this sentence that leads me to believe that it has any particular grudge against these particular trains whatsoever. Trains are trains in this sentence.
Sometimes trains aren't on time. That's just the way they are. It is a risk to be accounted for, but, as you intimate, even if this risk could be eliminated, what we are dealing with is a man who is simply not very good being on time and making connections.
In my judgment: Absolutely zero hidden criticism of the trains, no particular judgment of the trains at all, and almost zero "hidden" criticism of the man, because the criticism of the man is actually relatively explicit.
Yes, I believe we do a better job trying both to educate and entertain. Thank you. I’ll take it. =)