Culture

The World Is Jealous Because Sydney Trains Have Reversible Seats And Two Levels

"Does the rest of the world not have this simple piece of passenger comfort?"

by Michelle Rennex  10 January 2020
Sydney Trains Reversible Seats

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Every Sydney resident has had a tumultuous relationship with Sydney Trains.

While the service isn’t always perfect aboard the NSW system, it can’t be denied that Sydney’s trains are pretty damn good.

If you’ve been lucky to board one of the newer Waratahs, the look and feel of the trains is pretty sleek and clean. Modern updates have included electronic signs displaying stations, but a few simple features have always been a staple for Sydney Trains: two levels of seating and reversible seats.

But it turns out that these features that Sydneysiders take for granted are bewildering to everyone else outside of New South Wales.

TikTok user @maxe_boi uploaded a video of a normal Sydney train while demonstrating how the seats onboard the Waratah operated. The video showing the reversible seats captured the attention of over 160,000 people, with the comments being flooded with confusion and awe.

“Does the rest of the world not have this simple piece of passenger comfort?” Maxie captioned the video. And, well, judging by the response to the TikTok, apparently not.

Sydney train reversible seats

The reversible orientation of the seats and multiple levels are far from what other countries have to offer in the train department. The New York Subway and London Underground are classic examples of single-level trains with fixed seating. Similarly, Japan’s advanced bullet trains have the same internal design of those in New York and London.

Not even Melburnians, who are often the first to shit on Sydney, could deny how advanced NSW was on the train front.

Despite ex-Premier Barry O’Farrell believing Sydney’s move to the double-decker train in the mid ’60s was a mistake, people across Australia and the globe are marvelling at Sydney’s “advanced” transport system.

The revelation that Sydney’s train features are unique to the state really brings up a lot of questions. Like how do groups of three and four sit together during a train journey if their seats can’t be reversed? How do other countries fit enough people onto trains if they don’t have multiple levels?

And most importantly, who knew Sydney Trains were actually pretty good at something after all?