Consulting

The following is a conversation between Jack and someone from the train company.

If it is as you say then why don't you go over there and touch that power rail?
Because I'm not stupid.
Because you're lying. You're just in kahoots with them to keep us all inside.
Sir, I'm done arguing with you. I told you twice that it is never a good idea to to touch these. I told you what you could do instead. Go ahead with your bone-headed plan, get a train to the airlock and find out for yourself.
Leaving you alone here so you can sabotage ...?
Jack cuts him off: In fact, I am gonna leave and see if I can find some popcorn. Watching this is gonna be fun...

The rails start ringing and a train of the Sunside Cove Metro approaches. It slows down and comes to a halt before the switches in front of the closed airlock. In the cab are a driver and the railway official. Jack, sitting next to the rails, reaches into his bag of chips – he didn't find any popcorn for the occasion – and shoves a handful into his mouth. The headlights turn off and the driver leaves. A moment later, the first door opens and he jumps out.
No, I am only going to drive the first segment in there. We don't need the entire train stuck in the tunnel if it doesn't go to plan.
It's gonna be fine. What could go wrong?
Jack says (loudly so both of them hear him): A lot.
You shut up! shouts the official from inside.
The driver says, talking over his shoulder: I'm inclined to agree with him.
Then, he turns around and walks to the end of the first railcar where he proceeds to detach the hoses and cables and unhooks the couplings. He returns to the front and climbs back inside.

The headlights come back on and a few contactors click inside the train. A compressor kicks into action. After a moment, the door closes. The train sits like this for a few minutes until the compressor turns off again. Jack shoves a handfull of chips into his mouth. The inner door of the airlock begins to open, creaking and buzzing as it slowly moves up.

The motors begin to hum and the first car of the train starts moving towards the airlock. It loses power as it rolls past the end of the power rail and over the switches. The headlights dim. Jack shoves another handful of chips into his mouth. The railcar disappears completely inside the airlock, rolling without power. It's still decently far away from the other door. Jack thinks any second now... as he waits for the emergency brakes to engage. The car rolls deeper into the airlock, beyond Jack's view. Moments later, loud hissing sounds from inside the airlock as the train's failsafe mechanism trips, followed by screeching and grinding noises from the brakes.

Jack grabs his bag of chips and gets up. He walks onto the tracks and looks into the airlock, stuffing his face as he watches the dim Rücklichter? rear lights? go out. A few minutes pass and nothing happens. Eventually, he hears one of the doors getting unlocked with a key and sees a hand pushing it open. He gets off the track and sits back down next to the rails, continuing to crunch on chips. A bit later, the driver and the railway official emerge from the tunnel, the latter seeming pretty close to having an aneurysm.
Jack says: Told you so.
The railway official loses it completely, stampfen? and jumping around while screaming some presumably very colorful language – Jack doesn't understand a single word.

The train driver approaches him: Who are you, by the way, and what are you doing around the tracks?
Jack, former head of dome infra between 1992 and 1994.
You look like you're twenty-something, not over a hundred.
I was frozen after that.
Well, you seem to know some things about trains. You reckon we can get that thing towed out with an translate: Überlänge train?
I'd say it's probably not advisable. It could work, but you should really just use a diesel locomotive.
Diesel?
My bad — battery-powered. Alternatively, I can get the diesel-electric train from outside and push it back in.
You have a train that is perfectly fine going on unpowered track and let us get one of ours stuck in there?
Told him. Jack nods towards the railway official. He didn't wanna hear about it.

missing section: they decide to have Jack get the train from IV South

Jack grabs the microphone off the wall and holds the push to talk button on the control panel in front of him.
7-oh-5-D oh-oh-1-4, underway to airlock two. Control, permission to enter Sunside cove?
He waits for a moment. Noise from the speaker, but no discernable response.
This is train 7-oh-5-D oh-oh-1-4, approaching airlock two. Control, do I have permission to enter?