[Intro][Low piano strikes beneath an incomplete whistle motif. Muted drums drop one beat every fourth bar; a station loudspeaker cuts through the workshop.]

[Spoken Word: Station PA]
Passengers from Wagen 214,
leave the carriage with personal belongings.
This vehicle will not continue beyond Vienna.

[Verse 1][Male Lead Vocal: Narrator]
The first sign was grinding beneath every bed,
Then bitter hot air from the wheel box ahead.
Josef touched one wall, knelt flat on the floor:
"Wake everyone gently. Put boots by the door."
The brakes dragged their weight through the Austrian rain;
One spark traced the rail, then went dark once again.
No panic, just nightclothes and coats we pulled tight;
With blankets on shoulders, Vienna in sight.

[Chorus][Full Ensemble]
Carriage 214 off the line,
Cold beds beneath the red warning sign.
Carriage 214, uncoupled in rain,
No spare in the depot, no sleeper again.
A fault code blinked red on the depot display;
Our blankets were warm as they towed it away.

[Verse 2][Male Lead Vocal: Narrator with Ensemble Responses]
Elena kept photographs under her shirt.
Nico raised cases clear of the rain.
The father wrapped blue wool against the dirt;
Mara counted each face, then counted again.
Josef watched workers shine torches below;
One pointed at heat where the wheel bearing lay.
A manager found them spare seats in a row,
If the rest of the train could get under way.

[Pre-Chorus][Male Lead Vocal: Narrator]
Rain ruled the platform in columns of white.
Freight wheels hammered the track at our backs.
A typed notice snapped in the hard depot light:
"Overnight services remain under review."

[Chorus][Full Ensemble]
Carriage 214 off the line,
Cold beds beneath the red warning sign.
Carriage 214, uncoupled in rain,
No spare in the depot, no sleeper again.
A fault code blinked red on the depot display;
Our blankets were warm as they towed it away.

[Instrumental Break][Piano and bowed bass repeat the broken whistle motif. Couplings tighten onstage; the carriage light begins to move away.]

[Verse 3][Male Lead Vocal: Narrator]
The coupling released with one hard iron knock.
The sleeping car rolled past the station clock.
Its curtains hung open; the lamps held their glow,
Like rooms from a house rolling empty below.
Nico watched Berth Two pass the red signal light;
Elena stood near him, both hands locked tight.
They had shared that small room for six hours or more;
It rolled empty beyond them, past Platform Four.

[Bridge][Male Lead Vocal: Narrator]
Grease marked the rail where the bearing had burned.
Rain filled the dents as the workers returned.
Josef faced us, cold water over his brow:
"We lost where we slept. We choose where we go now."

[Break][Full Ensemble, restrained]
No bed.
No heat.
Wet bags at our feet.

[Final Chorus][Full Ensemble]
Carriage 214 off the line,
Cold beds beneath the red warning sign.
Carriage 214, uncoupled in rain,
No spare in the depot, no sleeper again.
A fault code blinked red on the depot display;
Our blankets were warm as they towed it away.

[Post-Chorus][Full Ensemble]
A refund form softened in somebody's hand;
We shouldered our cases when boarding began.

[Outro][The detached carriage disappears. The audience holds a low hum while the piano finally completes the third note.]

[Male Lead Vocal: Narrator]
The sleeper stood empty.
The passengers stayed.
The southbound departure
Was marked as delayed.