When I was in London I lived in Swiss Cottage and commuted to Charing Cross (the Strand) every day. Everyday, I would get up and wait or the tube to pick me up, and I would crowd into the train and be crammed until I got to my stop. During the summer the train could get sweltering and be extremely uncomfortable. I have seen people pass out on the train due to the heat.

Fast forward to now. I live in Virginia and commute into Washington DC every day on the Metro. Ironically the Metro can be just as packed as the tube back in London. In fact, the past two days I have been crammed in the train, wedged in against a wall or against a railing. People on the Metro must have thought I was crazy because every time that happens I can’t help but smile as I remember my underground commutes.

There is one major difference between the Metro and the Underground. The Underground gets a nice breeze blowing through the cars (they have windows at each end), while the Metro is a contained car without air ventilation at each end. The reason for this is because “normally” there is air conditioning in the trains. However, tonight my train’s air conditioning was not functioning…so it had a nice funky sweat mixed with body order smell. To make it worse, it was humid and steamy on the train. You could literally feel the dampness in the air. Pleasant it was not.