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Comment by JackFr | Hacker News Reader

I never saw the movie, but I saw the actual money train in action two three times in my 20’s. Probably about 3:30 AM - having spent all my money at a bar forced me to take the subway instead of a cab.

Disappointment at first because you saw a train coming, and then realized it was a no-passenger work train. And then it stopped and a couple of guys with long guns got off and stood guard while a couple of others would go and get the money from the booth. Totally cool to see.

I believe there was an attempted robbery sone time in the 80’s or 90’s. The train just pulled out of the station, leaving frustrated criminals, who then shot up the heavily reinforced token booth to no effect.

(Not mentioned in the article is that they collect garbage from platform trash bins the same way.)

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> (Not mentioned in the article is that they collect garbage from platform trash bins the same way.)

Armed guards seem like overkill for collecting garbage.

The incredibly strong selective pressures on city raccoons keep making them more intelligent.

I read this in David Attenborough's voice.

You know what they say; one man's trash is another man's treasure.

> having spent all my money at a bar forced me to take the subway instead of a cab

an NYC resident "forced" to take the subway... smh

Please. I take the subway everyday twice a day. You must admit at 3:30 AM after a night at a bar, a cab would be preferable to the subway.

In London I always prefer the underground to a cab after a night out.

The car is driven by someone tired yet in a hurry, on busy roads with (usually) lots of turns. There's not much space.

Way outside the peak times, the train is spacious, brightly lit and there's almost zero risk of an accident. 10 minutes walking at either end is probably a good idea after N hours in a bar.

Depending on the line, graveyard hour subways in NYC can be a long wait before a train arrives.

And in London, the Underground closes down altogether overnight, except for some lines running on Friday and Saturday nights. (And that Night Tube service is a relatively recent innovation, starting in 2016.)

The night tube is one of the best things that’s ever happened to London.

As a recent arrival to London, the tube is amazing.

It is amazing in general and I hold to the idea that London has one of the finest public transportation networks in the world.

Lived there 5 years and eventually I came to the analogy that the buses were like red blood cells running through the streets distributing people. The metro trains and even taxis formed a sort of almost circulatory system for the city, with the humans being little cells being carried at varying speeds through different veins and vessels.

And I think the health of a city sort of depends on its circulatory system. Where I come from the system doesn’t cover the city adequately and that creates pockets of inequality, problems, low access to the centre. London is highly productive because of its excellent circulatory system.

>Way outside the peak times, the train is spacious, brightly lit and there's almost zero risk of an accident.

In NYC the subway is filthy, urine soaked and at 3:30 AM there is higher than zero chance you will be harassed or assaulted.

> You must admit at 3:30 AM after a night at a bar, a cab would be preferable to the subway.

The wee hours after a night out is one of my favorite times to ride the subway. More surreal, smaller crowds - feels like a movie.

I suppose it depends on which train and what the origin and destinations are.

These people haven't lived in NYC. Even at 10 pm, I'd prefer a cab. I had to travel at 8.30 pm from lower east the other day and I was keeping my heart in my throat for some reason. Not that every ride is like that but some of them make a few of my hairs go gray with all the rowdy elements and fucking hyper autistic crazy people on it.

I mean you're going to shower in a few hours anyway. But until you do you have to sleep with that sticky smell.

Can always shower before you go to bed.

At 3AM drunk? That’s called looking for trouble.

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