A commuter has blasted a group of American tourists for making what they perceived to be a rude and presumptuous mistake on the London Underground. The iconic tube network, renowned globally, facilitates up to five million journeys each day.
The hustle and bustle are par for the course, with both locals and visitors bracing themselves to rub elbows during their travels along the 250 miles of tracks. Train decorum is a hotly debated subject, with varied opinions on what is considered acceptable or courteous behaviour on board.
One unimpressed Londoner encountered an American family travelling on the tube with multiple children and suitcases.
They uploaded a photo to Reddit showing the family's luggage piled in the middle of the carriage, while they sat encircling it.
The Reddit user captioned the photo: "Shout out to all the tourists who think no one matters but them," and further explained in the accompanying text that "the luggage areas of the tube were empty".
In the comments, other Reddit users eagerly voiced their opinions, with many disagreeing with the original poster and their perception of the tourists.
A commenter remarked: "As a Londoner I wouldn't trust the thieving s***es about not to nick my luggage if I wasn't stood right next to them!
"Plus with that quantity of luggage and being a horde surely this is better than being stood with said luggage, blocking the doors area as many do, something genuinely inconveniencing others?"
Another agreed: "Also a Londoner and same. I'm telling you, [these] lot complaining aren't from London. Tube trains are not like other commuter trains. Any space will be occupied anyway."
A third commented: "I was on the Northern line with my suitcase yesterday. There's signs explicitly stating that you shouldn't leave your suitcase unattended."
Another added: "Because they're tourists, they're probably unaware there are luggage areas."
And another person said: "Busy tubes don't have much luggage spaces."
Someone else shared: "With London's reputation, can you blame them for not wanting to be more than 6 inches from their luggage? Certainly wouldn't leave it alone next to a door!"
An American responded: "And in US cities, an unattended bag or suitcase = call in the bomb squad. So we keep our luggage close."
Sharing personal experience, one person said: "I'm on the Piccadilly every second day and I never realised there were luggage areas."
Another confessed: "I lived in London for 5 years commuting on the tube daily and I was unaware of any 'luggage areas'."
12 PerFlyer