THANK heavens for commuting — without it we might all be much more stressed.

Contrary to most people’s experience, an hour a day in a cramped rail carriage is a “gift” for which we should be grateful, according to a study.

A survey of 26,000 rail passengers suggests that train travel offers commuters vital “transition time” to adjust to their different roles at home and at work.

Sensible travellers make the most of their journey by unwinding with a good book, playing games on a mobile phone, listening to music or watching a DVD on a laptop.

At peak times, when passengers are packed in so tightly that staring out of the window is the only way to pass the time, they should rejoice. This is priceless “quality thinking” time.

Glenn Lyons, who led the research, said: “Travel is assumed to be the price paid for reaching the destination. However, this apparent burden of travel can be viewed quite differently: as a gift.

“The gift can take the form of the sensation of travel itself: the pulsing train passing through changing landscapes. It can also take the form of transition time and time out.

“By transition time we mean the mental adjustment between different roles: leaving the stressful office as a manager and arriving home as a parent; leaving home thinking about football and arriving at the business meeting thinking about strategy. Time out refers to the period of time a journey gives us which is ours to use as we wish away from the expectations of others at home or at work. It is selfish time.

“We could read a book, listen to music, watch a DVD, phone a friend, daydream, sleep. Equally, we might use this uninterrupted time to do some quality thinking, read a report or prepare a presentation. Time out is something we can benefit from and use productively.”

Laura Watts, a research assistant on the team, said that reading was the most popular activity among train passengers, followed by “window-gazing”. “One in ten people said that it was worthwhile being able to gaze out of the window. I think that’s something that is often lost in our achievement-led world. For a lot of people one of the most valuable things is to have time to think, contemplate and have ideas. It’s only when they are travelling that they have time to themselves.”

The three-year study involves five researchers from the Centre for Transport & Society at the University of the West of England and the Centre for Mobilities Research at Lancaster University. Its findings are being discussed with rail companies.

Ms Watts said: “We spent a long time sitting and watching passengers on trains and buses and at stations. We were fascinated that people often took their laptops out and planned to work but then chose not to.

“Perhaps that’s because they couldn’t be bothered, but surely that means they needed the time to relax?” According to the researchers, Britons spend an hour a day travelling, just as they did in 1976. The difference is that transport has become more efficient since then, and the average commute is 50 per cent farther than 30 years ago.

Anthony Smith, chief executive of Passenger Focus, the independent national rail consumer watchdog, sees this as the main barrier to reinterpreting commuting as an opportunity for self-improvement and developing spiritual harmony.

“I get a sense that people would like to use that time as creatively as possible. It’s potentially very valuable but that’s assuming you can enjoy it. If your train’s been cancelled or you are squashed in and uncomfortable it’s useless time.”

TIME OUT

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