Riding the Rail - Tips for the everyday commuter.

Every Tuesday and Thursday I undergo the tedious task of boarding my local South West train service in order to get to University. Unfortunately for me, I leave at rush-hour and return at rush-hour.

This can present some problems...

Seating:
There is nothing worse than stepping on a train and being faced with the choice of selecting your seat neighbour. I usually find myself being overly picky at this point, students and young men are usually a no go. As are those who are overweight, coughing or appear of a nervous disposition.

A good tip here is to either:
1. Hover. - Stand around in the doorway area. Wait til someone leaves at the next stop, you will have priority over the boarding passengers as you are already on the train.
2. Be Selective. -Select someone who looks 'un-business-like'. The business-man is usually the person commuting the furthest, (in this case, London Waterloo.) The 'un-business-like' person is usually not a commuter but a local person making the most of public transport. Unlikely to be on-board for long.

Avoiding the Stranger:
Of course, there is also the flip side to this issue during these busy times, and this is having two seats to yourself.
Usually during my journeys, I like to sit with an extra seat to myself, greedy I know, but who doesn't? The only problem with this is that you often are faced with an influx of people boarding the train and scouring the carriage for seats.

This is when the following methods come into play:

1. Avoid Eye Contact. - This is a must when avoiding the stranger, the moment you make eye contact with a fellow commuter, is the moment you unknowingly give them the 'come and take a seat here' sign.
2. Occupy - Use the seat next to you for such things as bags and coats. This does deter most passengers, yet some take no notice of said objects and instead prolong their lowering pose until items have been removed.
3. Play Dead. - Pretend to be asleep. Perhaps add dibble for effect and lean yourself over onto the spare seat. This method is highly effective; no one wants to wake a stranger.
4. Strategic Seating. - Seat yourself in the chair closest to the walkway. This puts many a seat-searcher off, as not only must they ask to sit down, but they also cause you to move, disrupting your journey.

Finally, another tip is choose to sit in the 'Quiet Zone' This minimises the chances of screaming children or noisy chavs.

A good selection of passenger-avoiding advice if I may say so myself... who said I wasn't a people person?!