Eating on Trains

Not sure where the ok came from.

You should try upstairs on the bus at 3.30. Kids come out of school, straight to the chip shop. A chip underfoot at every step, not to mention the pong.Ok.

It doesn’t bother me if people eat on trains. I am guilty of this myself and do take a sarnie on long journeys. Will make a point of taking egg next time, simply to raise some eyebrows. If you use public transport you have to put up with the public with all their smells and horrid habits.

Frankly, I do not think you can reasonably object to people eating on trains - journeys are often long.

Buses and the underground is perhaps a different kettle of fish.

I am really at a loss to undertand why you object to this.

Do you object to passengers sneezing or coughing as well?

We were brought up with, no eating in public, smoking was men only-ended up grateful for that one !!! never late for work. Another era though!!!

We're all different and that has to be a good thing. I am a regular train traveler - often substantial journeys to see the grandkids. I always take a train picnic. But it does amaze me that folk who are quite happy to wander around breathing diesel fumes in all day on the street get very sensitive on the train or even those who live in houses with those toxic plug-in air 'fresheners'.
I object to folk who get out their nail-varnish or hairspray or other chemically make-up regardless of the confined space and start poisoning the carriage. Loud phone conversations and groups of both men and women who think the carriage is some sort of exhibitionist's display area and everyone is just dying to know who they shagged last weekend or how drunk they are. I suppose if everyone who was likely to offend anyone else was banned, there would be no train travel.

I’ve no problem with people eating on public transport although agree that smelly food is a bit antisocial. Last week on a train I sat opposite a man about my own age who ate an apple - nothing wrong with that. He then got a toothpick out and proceeded to spend five minutes ‘excavating’ all around inside his mouth. I could almost count how many fillings he had ?

I eat on both trains and coaches when travelling anywhere, its normal in some countries with food sellers jumping on and off trains selling all kinds of food. I see nothing wrong with as long as you clear up your rubbish afterwards. Better than smoking.

I Agree that a journey is often the only time in the day to eat and we should be more tolerant of others, and more considerate in our choices of food. And yes, sometimes a half an hour bus journey is the only time to eat too. Needs must.

For goodness sake, I ve never read such a ridiculous post. Often people are making long journeys and I d much rather they ate something than had them faint from lack of nutrition because someone doesn’t happen to like the sound they make when they eat or the smell from their food. Funnily enough as human beings we have a fundamental need to eat to survive and generally healthy food such as eggs and salad are better for us. Be thankful there’s no smoking in confined spaces anymore. As a vegetarian I m quite likely to be eating egg sandwiches and make no apologies for that. How about we display a little more tolerance to our often stressed, tired and hungry, fellow travellers. Rant over, thanks for reading ?

I’m afraid I’m guilty of eating on trains, crisps included. I regularly undertake a 6 hour trip, so fairly frequent snacks are needed, the dining car being well beyond my budget.

I often quote to OH what I call "The gem of the day" on GN.
I'm spoilt/ spoiled ( for the pendants) for choice on this thread. ?

I ate a home-made sandwich (cheese and lettuce), three small tomatoes and a satsuma on a train yesterday. It left at 12.17 and got into London at 1.15pm, where I needed to be for at meeting at 2pm in Bloomsbury. What else could I have done? I'm not missing lunch because other people might not like it.

Yes I have the same phobia it is called Misophonia and my daughter has it too.
Cant stand it and even less when people speak with their mouth full!

I agree with bluebelle sometimes people have to eat on a train journey if its a long journey and you are going straight onto a meeting after its either eat on the train or not at all. Also you often have to eat when travelling with small children. I think I will feel even more self conscious about it now after reading this thread!

sodapop …. you reminded me of when I used to do the same. In my early 20's I used to work for a firm selling cars and I had to accompany them sometimes taking the train from Hertfordshire to Southampton car auctions to drive one of the cars back that they had bought. On the way there we would have a large cooked breakfast that we only managed to finish as we arrived at Southampton. I had totally forgotten that fun experience until you jogged my memory. Happy days.

Doesn’t bother me - sometimes the journey from a to b is the only window in a working day that you get to eat.

Many, many years ago I sat on a plane and across the aisle a man took out a tin of sardines and ate them, the smell was dreadful in such an enclosed space. Maybe he noticed because he then took out a spray deodorant, lifted hit T-shirt and sprayed, not sure which was worse.

Nothing wrong with people eating on long journeys as far as I'm concerned it's just bad eating habits that get me. Still it's not surprising that some people display such bad habits when it's encouraged on the television. There is a certain large crisp in a tube that usually shows pretty awful eating habits in it's adverts, kids spearing sausages and fishfingers with a fork and chomping a lump off the end, we are bombarded with such displays.

Atqui there is a phobia about loud, eating noises!

On a train journey in Germany recently the young couple our assigned seats were next to were happily eating lunch they'd brought with them including salt to put on the radishes!!

Happychops think I was on that same train with "crisp man"!

It’s ok bluesaffire you can share the seats with annodomino, missadventure and me all munching on our egg sandwiches with, shock horror, unwashed hands ???

I was fascinated to see an elderly couple across the isle from me gradually work their way through a full 3 course meal, each one eaten, cleared away then the next set of containers appearing from their copious bags. They rounded off with tea from a flask, a litre carton of milk and a container of sugar. Oh and biscuits.

I too hate it when people have to noisily chomp their way through a large bag of crisps. Fortunately I am slightly hard of hearing and can remove my hearing aids if necessary.

I am diabetic and sometimes NEED to eat when out. I do not have 'smelly' food and try to keep a low profile.

Maybe the person eating was diabetic and had low blood sugar ?When my DS comes to visit every other weekend by train he sets off from home at 5.30. By mid morning he is ravenous.