On a busy train, it’s temping to take the first vacant seat you spot — even if it’s next to a barebacker. It’s better than standing for two hours, right?
But getting yourself into the optimal platform position can help you avoid commuters with annoying habits and ensure you don’t wind up next to a stinking toilet.
Now, a train conductor from London Northwestern Railway has revealed their tips on how to find the best seat onboard – without spending extra cash on a first-class ticket.
Avoid the middle of the train
First of all, if you’ve not booked a seat, you’ll want to avoid standard carriages in the middle of the train.
The reason? These seats tend to be the most popular, particularly with large groups, as they’re typically furnished with social seating and are usually the closest to the toilets.
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So, if you want to bag a quieter position, you’re best off walking slightly further down the platform and targeting the end carriages.
After all, the fewer people, the less noise to disturb you if you’re travelling solo and want a bit of peace and quiet.
Skip the four-seaters
If you’re carrying a lot of luggage or simply want a little bit more space, you might make a beeline straight towards the four-seaters – even if you’re journeying alone. A little extra legroom is always ideal, right?
Think again. According to our trusty conductor, these seating options are always absolute ‘magnets’ for friends and family travelling in groups.
If you don’t want your peace to be disturbed, you’re better off opting for a two-seater.
Sometimes, you’re just not in the mood to have company – and that’s fair enough.
Take advantage of technology
Boarding a LNR train? The ‘how busy is my train?’ tool inputs your departure station, destination, date and time, and tells you how busy your train is expected to be.
‘The calculations are based on the average demand on a typical day, and are split into ‘quiet’, ‘moderate’, ‘busy’, and ‘standing expected’ levels – highlighting the exact parts of the journey that fall under each category,’ the conductor explains.
Thameslink has similar technology in place. Two hours ahead of your journey, you’ll be able to check how busy the train is expected to be by peeking at the live departure boards.
Just look for the colour-coded symbol – as green means there are usually plenty of seats available, while red means even standing space will likely be limited.
Once you’re on board, the screens also use a train loading indicator – which works by weighing each carriage to determine roughly how many passengers are sat there.
Each coach is individually marked with a colour code, so if you’ve boarded at a particularly busy point for lack of time, you’ll be given information on where to find a seat.
‘Bare beating’ is the latest Tube habit tormenting commuters on the London Underground
You’ve somehow managed to get a seat on your Circle line train and settle in for the gruelling Tube journey into the office.
But then the person next to you starts listening to music on their phone. And you can hear it. Every. Single. Beat.
Opposite you, someone else answers their phone. On speaker, broadcasting both sides of their very loud and obnoxious conversation to the entire carriage.
These bare beaters seem to be the most despised commuters of all, appearing on Tubes, trains and buses – and there’s no shortage of people who take issue with them.
Don’t raise those eyebrows – it’s a perfectly innocent term coined by Metro, to describe the act of letting the beats of your music or phone conversation ricochet throughout the carriage, rather than using earphones.
Steer clear of congested areas
It might seem a little obvious, but you’ll want to avoid areas passengers are likely to flock to during their journey – like the toilets or café, if there is one.
As our trusty conductor tells us, the noise of people ‘coming in and out may be distracting,’ while choosing seats ‘away from the train doors where people on shorter commutes tend to stand and chat.’
So, the next time you board a train where it’s every man for himself, you’ll want to have one of these tricks up your sleeve. You never know when you’ll need to use them.
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Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.
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