Morning Train

Some people have a strange obsession with trains, whether they be a trainspotter with their clipboards and pocket protectors, or the Hornby railway collective who lock themselves in their attics to indulge in their private pleasures. Whatever your delectation the idea of a train journey for many holds a certain appeal, conjuring up thoughts of an era of steam, sounds, and images in keeping with a bygone era and a romantic journey on the Orient Express.

The reality for many of us is a vastly different story, as we take our daily commute surrounded by coffee breath, stifled only by the proximity of the armpits into which we are forced to bury our noses. However these are things that we cannot avoid unless we choose an alternative means of transport. What each of us can remedy is our participation in the daily orchestral accompaniment of sniffs, snorts, coughs and sneezes which each one of us are subjected to.

This morning it was started by a lone participant. A well dressed respectable looking gentleman standing near the doorway of the carriage, deeply engrossed in the news of the day, all the while giving a deep mucus filled, gut wrenching sniff with the regularity of a metronome. By the time we reached the first stop I was about to offer him a tissue, however it was then that we were joined by the next onslaught of passengers, pushing, shoving, and establishing their own personal space. It was here that the cacophony of sounds became more overwhelming with a variety of sniffs perpetuating from every corner. Building up via a mexican wave of coughs and snorts choking its way around the circumference of the carriage and cumulating in a series of exuberant sneezes exploding their way back through the centre.

We will all agree that the public transport system does not always meet our expectations with regard to the service provided, however we could all contribute towards minimising the discomfort and increasing the user experience of all of us by stifling our bodily functions to a decent level.