Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting

The London Underground, colloquially known as “the Tube,” is a transit system serving London and the surrounding environs. It is the oldest underground railway and currently the 7th largest such transit system in the world. Building on the Metropolitan Railway that developed in the 1830s, the first underground railway carriage began operating in 1863. As of 2023, 11 rail lines serve 272 stations, transporting an average of 3 million passengers a day and over a billion a year, both below and above ground. Many processes are automated, including payment, announcements, and driving.

Adumbrating the Tube is a larger system of railways that connects London’s environs to cities beyond, including the South Western Railway, which operates the train Iona takes. Iona boards on a small spur at Hampton Court that runs through Thames Ditton station before joining the main tracks and its stops at Surbiton, Berrylands, New Malden, Raynes Park, Wimbledon, Clapham Junction, and Vauxhall, with its terminus at Waterloo. Waterloo is the largest and busiest London terminal, and it connects to the London Underground station of the same name.

The ride on Iona’s train typically takes between 34 to 41 minutes. Clare Pooley reveals in the Author’s Note that she has taken some liberties with details of the train system. She changed what is actually Platform 3 at Waterloo for Platform 5. Iona’s train resembles an older version than what current commuters see; carriages no longer include tables, like the one Iona and Lulu claim as their own, and they also no longer employ guards like the one who takes part in Iona’s birthday party.

Like Iona’s rules for commuting, there is an unwritten etiquette that prevails among passengers who share trains on the Tube and other railways. Many of them have to do with how to occupy the space: stand on the right and walk on the left, stay behind painted lines, move to the center of the carriage, do not block doors, and so on. There are also unwritten rules about the etiquette of personal interaction. In a crowded space, the preservation of personal space is important. People are reluctant to jostle or touch one another. Passengers generally avoid eye contact or conversation, unless with friends. The novel observes the extremes to which strangers may go not to interact with, or ask help from, one another: For instance, the woman who spends her whole ride unaware her skirt is tucked into her hose (117), or the man who vomits into his briefcase and then exits.

Most passengers adhere to the advice to give up a seat to someone who might need it more, including pregnant, elderly, or disabled passengers. Drinking is allowed in a rail carriage, but eating is discouraged, especially foods with a strong odor. Passengers are requested not to place baggage on seats. There is no formal rule against loud conversations or public intoxication, but both behaviors are heavily frowned upon. Pets aside from service animals are allowed, but with restrictions. Britain’s National Rail allows up to two pets per passenger but does not permit them to occupy seats. Naturally, Iona breaks this rule for Lulu.