east village idiot

New Train Smell

July 31, 2007 – 4:36 pm

I didn’t think it was possible, but I experienced it: New Train Smell.

It happened one evening last week, when I came down to the 8th Avenue station on the L to find a brand-spankin-new R160 train on the platform (or, as I like to call it, R0b0train).

So, what does New Train Smell smell like?

Nothing. That’s the point. It smells like nothing. You step into the train and it smells like a hospital ward: sterile.

Unfortunately, unlike its automotive counterpart New Car Smell, which lasts roughly up to six months, New Train Smell lasts exactly 3 hours and 23 minutes.