If you're aged 26-30 and currently living in the UK, you were no doubt waiting by your laptops this morning for the government to finally release the long overdue millennial railcard.
In November, the BBC reported that discounted rail travel was going to be extended to those up to 30 years old in the Spring of 2018. For most people, this meant they could finally afford to go home to see their parents, friends and even attend that wedding up north without contemplating hitchhiking, human catapult, or *gulp* a Megabus.
However, in true British fashion, today's launch day for the railcard was a complete disaster.
With just 10,000 cards on sale on a first-come, first-served basis, it meant that just one in 500 millennial had the chance of applying for the card.
Well, that was the case until the website crashed almost immediately.
'Limited Trial,' the website reads. 'Due to high demand access to buy is limited. Please bear with us.'
And if you thought us millennial would just grin and bear this grave injustice, you clearly don't know what it feels like to have the possibility of reduced travel ripped from your grasp:
Then came this nostalgic throwback to the good ol' days:
However, millennials aren't the only ones angry at the railcard debacle:
Of course, it didn't take long before the conspiracy theories came out:
A spokesman for Rail Delivery Group has since released a statement about the railcards, saying: .
The 10,000 quota of 26-30 Railcards, made available as part of the national trial, have now sold out. A key commitment in the rail industry's long-term plan to change and improve is to boost communities by enabling more people to travel by train, so we will consider carefully the unprecedented demand we've seen as part of this trial.
Mark 13 March in your diaries people.
For this is the day we saw hope, promise and a future of change (for a nanosecond).
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
