London has the oldest underground rail system in the world. Obviously it's not running steam locomotives anymore, and obviously many parts were built since the XIX century, but the fact is that it is barely apt to deal with the crowds that flood it every day.
The thing that impressed me the most about the boarding ritual for the Tube carriages is that people don't all enter when the train arrives. In all likelihood there is not enough room available inside, so people queue in front of where the doors will stop. After letting the ones who are leaving out, this amorphous mass of Londoners makes its way inside. Squeezes inside. Or rather pushes inside until all the space is taken. The doors close like the lid of a can and off it goes, leaving the unlucky ones who couldn't enter in place, waiting for the door of the next Tube to come by.
The other peculiar thing about the Underground routine is formed by sentences like "Mind the gap!" and "Mind the doors!" These have already become part of pop culture but what's interesting is that during rush hour they are voiced by actual assistants on the platforms. In fact the mess is so great that some form of guidance is needed to tell people what they should already know and to signal the driver once everyone is finally in place. As inefficient as it may sound, I'm pretty sure that trying to automate this would end in chaos.
So, putting it all together, there really is no way around rush hour for people travelling by Tube during those times. Which basically means I'll remain crushed twice a day for a little while longer.
Though you were referring to the shy looks exchanged between a boy and a girl during long train rides, with both of them too timid to speak up and both falling "platonicly in love" - hence a crush =o, Using Abilio's words, "You must find an alternate mean of transportation, like a bicycle" (when speaking to Benjamim after he arrived late to a class for missing the train) =o)
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