A possible series of omitted words in 「特急列車は相も変わらず閑古鳥」

Question

So I was trying to translate this song (full lyrics: 反芻の印象) and I came across this phrase that I believe has omitted words:

特急列車は相も変わらず閑古鳥

"The limited express is, as usual, a cuckoo", would be my literal translation. As this doesn't make any sense, I would think that 閑古鳥 is just a shortened form of the idiom 閑古鳥が鳴く ("business is slow/ (a store is) empty", is basically how my dictionary gives it), so I would think that "The limited express is, as usual, empty," would be the translation. Is that correct? I was unsure about the omitted words.

However, the next line of the song is

星座の光　線路の隙間に茂る雑草

(Under the light of the constellations, the spaces between the railroad tracks grow thick with weeds) and I would think it is possible that 閑古鳥 goes with 星座の光, though it does seem to be in a different phrase. Still, I thought this could be a possibly, since the omitted words bother me. Thank you for your help!

Answer 1

I'm all with your first interpretation - that the "閑古鳥" is a reduced form of the idiomatic expression, and therefore does not refer to the bird itself. It's the most likely and natural one. Your translation seems spot-on.

As for the alternative reading, I personally don't see how 閑古鳥 and 星座の光 can be linked.

(My overall impression of the whole lyrics is that they are highly cryptic in some places, using and connecting words in an unconventional way, and fragmented in others, dropping a slew of images and ideas without obvious relation, though there are sporadic moments of relieving clarity here and there. The style is much different from how we recount a story or describe things and thoughts in practical, everyday communication, as is expected of a piece of poetry.)

Answer 2

I think 閑古鳥 links with 線路の隙間に茂る雑草. It's mean trains rare to run on the railroad tracks, since few passenger use this line, trains don't come very often.

星座の光 links with 特急列車, probably it comes from Japanese famous juvenile literature 銀河鉄道の夜(English title is "The Night of the Milky Way Train"). When it comes to limited express and the constellations, many Japanese associate it with that story.