I use the Tube extremely rarely, and I wouldn't want any Tom, Dick or Harriet engaging me in spontaneous conversation any more than I would like a stranger on a bike coming alongside and yacking to me on my commute. However,the rules of social intercourse completely change on a proper train journey, not least because you quickly establish how long you will be travelling together, and have a common purpose.
I met a charming Ukranian biochemist on a train from London to Oxford last year, before the start of a night ride. A brief amount of eye contact made us realise that we really had a mutual interest in stopping the young lady in the seat next door loudly spouting rubbish into her phone. We started our conversation very loudly and drove her to a seat far away, after which we had half an hour of wide-ranging and amusing natter.
