♦ The seeker: We all search for an empty seat when we board a train but this kind does it with missionary zeal. They will continuously ask co-passengers where they plan to get off so that they can grab their seat. 

♦ The foodie: This one will buy and consume everything that is peddled on the train, from masala peanuts to lemonade, veg patties to seasonal fruits.

♦ The helpful one: This (rare) kind offers their seat to the elderly, to women carrying babies or to kids.

♦ The shopper: This type feels compelled to buy or try to buy from every vendor who steps into the compartment, from handkerchief to scissors. And boy, can they bargain! 

♦ The player: No matter how crowded the train is, you will always see this one dealing cards, usually with a group of friends but even when alone!

♦ The talker: This one is forever striking up conversations with fellow passengers, the topics may range from politics to paediatrics.

♦ The unhappy one: Never satisfied with the seat they have, they are in constant search of a better one, usually by the window.

♦ The mobile addict: The world may go for a toss but this one will remain glued to the mobile phone, with earplugs. 

♦ The gatekeeper: No matter how many posters warn you not to lean out of the door, this one will always behave like SRK in DDLJ. No Kajol has needed his help, though. Ever!

♦ The political being: This one is a self-styled expert and can hold forth on everything, as long as the topic is politics. 

♦ The spit machine: This one will constantly chew paan or gutkha and spit through the window or door, and sometimes even inside the train. Dirty and unhygienic, this is the most disgusting type we have on local trains.

Debapriti Sengupta
What other kinds of people have you met on a local train? 
Tell t2@abp.in