The Girl On The Train

Trains symbolize different things for the different point-of-view characters. For Rachel, trains offer connection with other people: a commuting crowd to blend in with, a place to find a drinking companion, and a place to voyeuristically enjoy the lives of other people in the suburbs. She moves between looking out of the train window and looking at the train from a distance. At the climax of the action, as Tom lays dying in his yard, Rachel turns toward the train tracks, and “As the train goes past I can see faces in brightly lit windows, heads bent over books and phones, travellers warm and safe on their way home” (317). The train is a place of safety and comfort to Rachel.

Through the train window, Rachel witnesses Megan kissing someone who is not her husband. Rachel is upset to witness Megan cheating on her husband. Right before Megan and Kamal kiss, Megan thinks, “Behind us a train is rumbling up to the signal. The noise is like a barrier, a wall surrounding us, and I feel as though we are truly alone” (286). At other moments in the novel, the train adds to Megan’s feelings of restlessness, due to her traumatic past. She isn’t taking the train to other locations, like the beach, as she fantasizes about. Rachel, in the last chapter of the novel, realizes Megan’s dream and travels to a beach, via the train.

Conversely, Anna has only negative feelings about the trains. She mocks Rachel’s love of them, saying, “The trains. I hate them. Absolutely bloody loathe them” (280). Anna wants to leave number 23 on Blenheim Road but does not associate positive feelings about moving with travel, like Megan and Rachel. She does not find comfort in crowds, like Rachel. The train, rather than a protective barrier, is a way to voyeuristically look into a suburban life she does not want people to examine too closely. Anna wants to avoid Rachel’s gaze and, more importantly, the gaze of other women like her.