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Such people may indulge their hobby by:

• travelling and visiting as many metro systems as they can;
• attempting to find out about and/or visit hidden nooks and crannies of a metro system;
• learning about the technology, architecture, and history of various metro systems;
• collecting material related to metro systems, such as maps, plans, transfers, tickets, and the like, often from many cities around the world;
• publicizing their metro systems (some metrophile websites contain more information about the system than the transit companies' own);
• designing expanded metro networks for various cities;
• discussing their findings with others;
• and, in general writing, learning, teaching, photographing, and thinking about metros.

Some metrophiles even manage to attract attention, approval, help, and even employment from transit companies.

One metrophile, a mildly autistic New Yorker named Darius McCollum , impersonated a range of New York City subway personnel for some time; he was so technically proficient at driving trains, helping repair crews, fixing trains, and even dealing with emergencies, that he served unpaid with some distinction (and a certain amount of complicity from actual personnel). Unfortunately, this was quite illegal and he was repeatedly arrested and, despite a plea to have him treated for Asperger's syndrome, was finally imprisoned. Harper's Magazine published an article on him in May 2002.

1 See also

• Trainspotting
• Barbara Vine's novel King Solomon's Carpet

2 External links

• UrbanRail.net
• Summary of Harper's article on Darius McCollum
• Complete Harper's article on Darius McCollum
• Straphangers Campaign