Strength in Numbers
"Picture of two "men's shoes" that creep closer to "women's shoes"."
According to a psychological study, people get stressed from having to sit or stand close to a stranger on the train. This study measured cortisol levels after participants had their daily commute and compared them to how crowded their commute was. The more crowded their commute and the closer they were standing to strangers, the higher their cortisol levels after arriving at their station. In general, people apparently do not like sitting close together if there’s enough space, according to this study.
In practice, it’s different for many women. A train is hard to get out of once it starts moving, and you’re essentially stuck until the next station. For extra protection, many women choose to sit close to another woman, because after all, there’s strength in numbers.