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The Sweet Smell of Commuting: Berlin Sniffs Out New Scent for Local Trains - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

The fragrance used to mask bad metro smells in Paris isn't strong enough for the Berlin commuter rail. Transportation authorities have started sniff tests in a project to give the S-Bahn a new, refreshing odor.

Berlin's communter trains smell of many things, not all of them pleasant: wet umbrellas, body odor, unwashed dogs, kebab and currywurst, sometimes spilled beer or schnapps.

But that may change. German rail, which runs the Berlin commuter train -- or S-Bahn -- system has announced plans to lace the S-Bahn with its very own de-odoring odor. "A relevant test is being prepared," rail spokesperson Burkhard Ahlert told the Berliner Zeitung Thursday.

The smell of kebab and currywurst!... People have problems, ha. What about urine, unwashed homeless people and alcoholics, puke?...

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.

by DoDo on Sat Sep 6th, 2008 at 04:04:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Heh. Yes.

This item was also in yesterday's salon. I'm pleased to note the correction. Another small part of the world saved, etc.

by nanne (zwaerdenmaecker@gmail.com) on Sat Sep 6th, 2008 at 05:16:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Missed it.

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Sat Sep 6th, 2008 at 05:38:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Regarding the correction, someone at SPIEGEL ONLINE English reads ET? ;-)

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Sat Sep 6th, 2008 at 05:42:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]
No, I sent them a note via the correction form, do-gooder nitpicker, me.
by nanne (zwaerdenmaecker@gmail.com) on Sat Sep 6th, 2008 at 05:54:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Before my comment is misunderstood, I was not speaking about the smells in the Budapest subway - those worse-than-kebab smells may appear in buses and old suburban trains, and pedestriab underpasses, but the Metró is odourless - heat is more of a problem (in all senses: no air conditioning, even stations heat up and conserve heat in the summer, and there is pointzless heating above room temperature in winter when everyone has warm clothes on).

Speaking of subways. The new train for Budapest Metro Line 2 was shown to journalists at the Katowice (Poland) plant of Alstom. There will also be a driver-less and thus cab-less version for Line 4 - interestingly, with automation electronics supplied by arch-rival Siemens.



Looks spartan, barely less spartan than the current Soviet-made trains; but the crammed line means most passengers have to stand. However those sidewall-mounted seats mean cleaning will be even more efficient. At least floor cleaning.

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.

by DoDo on Sun Sep 7th, 2008 at 03:37:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]
You can't help the semlls of the people who use it. I've been on trains where tramps have smelt absoutley foul.

However, the East London line was notorious for smelling of something unpleasant. Particularly the section under the Thames stank of rancid mud. the line is now being upgraded for the Olympics, I imagine they'll be doing something about the smell

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Sun Sep 7th, 2008 at 05:51:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I always thought the smell at Wapping station emanating from the tunnel under the river was sort of oily, like a ship's bilge...

The Waterloo & City line's epithet of "the Drain" is about right, IMHO and "rancid mud" isn't a bad label for it.

"Any economic unit can emit money. The serious problem is to get it accepted" Hyman Minsky

by ChrisCook (cojockathotmaildotcom) on Sun Sep 7th, 2008 at 03:42:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]

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