If you are catching a train, it is always better to be comfortably early than even a fraction of a minute too late.

catch a train / bus / plane ^赶车

• I must dash to catch a train. ^{我必须去赶火车。}
• I have to catch a train in 20 minutes! ^{我得在二十分钟内赶上火车！}
• We'll hurry and catch a bus. ^{我们要赶快去赶公共汽车。}
• I had to catch a plane up to Atlanta that next day. ^{第二天我就得赶飞机前往亚特兰大。}

a fraction of a second / a minute / an inch … ^{（强调时间或距离特别短）不到一秒钟 / 一分钟 / 一英寸}

• She hesitated for a fraction of a second before answering. 
• The car stopped within a fraction of an inch of the wall.
• Their economy is still a fraction of ours. 他们的经济仍然是我们的一部分。
• A second-hand car costs a fraction of a new one. ^{二手车的花费只是新车的零头。}

Although being early may mean wasting a little time, this will be less than if you miss the train and have to wait an hour or more for the next one; and you avoid the frustration of arriving at the very moment when the train is drawing out of the station and being unable to get on it.

条件状语从句中的省略

Although being early may mean wasting a little time, this will be less than (it will be) if you miss the train and have to wait an hour or more for the next one; … ^课文补全

• He's never more annoying than when he's trying to help. → He's never more annoying than (he is) when he's trying to help.
• Sometimes patients are more depressed six months later than when they first hear the bad news.  → Sometimes patients are more depressed six months later than (they are) when they first hear the bad news.

pull / draw out of the station ^车出站

• The train pulled out of the station right on time, leaving the platform empty. ^{火车准时离站，月台顿时空无一人。}
• As the bus slowly pulled out of the station, the passengers settled into their seats. ^{随着公交车缓缓驶离车站，乘客们都坐定了。}
• The old steam engine drew out of the station with a loud whistle, marking the start of the journey. ^{老式蒸汽机车发出一声响亮的汽笛声，缓缓驶出车站，标志着旅程的开始。}
• We watched as the train drew out of the station, disappearing into the distance. ^{我们看着火车驶出车站，渐渐消失在远方。}
• Just as we arrived, the last train was pulling out of the station, so we had to wait for the next one. ^{我们刚到时，最后一班火车正在驶离车站，所以我们只能等下一班。}

An even harder situation is to be on the platform in good time for a train and still to see it go off without you.

in good time (for sth.) ^{(UK) 早早就…}

• There wasn’t much traffic so we got there in good time. 
• He arrived in good time for dinner.
• I want to have everything ready in good time. ^{我要求一切都得准时备妥。}
• The accountant checked this unnecessary spending in good time. ^{会计及时卡住了这笔不必要的开支。}

Such an experience befell a certain young girl the first time she was travelling alone.

befall ^{(befell befallen)} = overtake / happen to ^{不幸的事降临到…}

• A great misfortune befell him.
• We know instinctively, just as beekeepers with their bees, that misfortune might overtake us if the important events of our lives were not related to it.
• The lucky moment could happen to anyone. ^{幸运的时刻可能发生在任何人身上。}