The bottom line

Japan used to be famous for shiri oshi, “bottompushers”, white-gloved officials squashing commuters into railway carriages. Since trains in Japan now seem less crowded, the pushers might find employment in Britain, where the Top 10 overcrowded trains have been named. The poor commuters on the 7.16am from East Grinstead have had to endure 1,366 of them being crammed into a train with capacity for 640. Worse in a way was the 4.22am Glasgow to Manchester Airport train with 344 people in rolling-stock with room for 192. You might think that even an extra carriage there would have solved the recurrent jam. But as anyone working in London appreciates, an autumn morning sees 23 per cent of passengers standing. We complain, but it gets no better. So instead of

shiri oshi, perhaps we need better-planned services.