I'm on the spectrum, and airports, subways, ferrys and train stations have always been fun for me.<p>Part of it is that there are some clear, actionable goals and direction when you use them (get to platform/ terminal X by 3pm, then get on, then transfer at X). It's a nice break from the open-endedness of everyday stuff. There's no way to make anything happen faster or slower, and there is very little decision-making except what to do while sitting, or what food to grab.<p>The machines themselves and the logistics of the overall transit systems also seem very impressive and elegant.
Subway trains might not always be on time, but they operate on a set of simple and well-known rules governing boarding, payment, transfer, etc. You know exactly where you're going (as long as you pay attention), how you're going to get there, and how much you're going to pay for the trip. It's all algorithmic, mechanical, and quintessentially modernist. Moreover, once you get used to a route, you can memorize every turn, anticipate every loud squeak, know exactly when you will cross a bridge, enter a tunnel, or go past a certain building. No wonder autistic minds love trains.<p>I'm on the spectrum, and the city where I grew up in (Seoul) was in the middle of a major expansion of its subway system while I was a teenager. I'm sure I tried every new line, every possible combination of routes. I knew the entire system by heart; I could tell you in a heartbeat the most efficient way to get from any station to any other station.<p>20 years later, I'm still fascinated by maps and other geographical databases. I built the only FOSS postal code search engine in the country, currently used by over a thousand online stores to validate shipping information. IMHO my program is way better than commercial alternatives because developers who work for $large_corporation simply aren't as familiar as I am with how the various administrative divisions of my country were conceived and have evolved over time.
I've always enjoyed watching trains, riding trains, building model railroads. I can see the orderliness of it all being appealing. As far as traveling goes, it's very comforting to be un-able to attend to anything else until I reach my destination -- and when I get there is out of my hands, once I'm on the train I don't have to worry about anything until I get to my stop.<p>This worked great for me until I lived in NYC, where the 4/5 express might become the 2/3 express en route to manhattan. Really have to stay on your toes as often as they cancel whole routes.
I've never considered myself on the spectrum - well, maybe just a little bit. I find the subway to be soothing. The thing I hate most about buses, which run perfectly on schedule as well here, is that sometimes their route changes. The fact of realizing a route may change just blows my gaskets.
My son is on the spectrum (thankfully quite mildly, so is doing very well at a mainstream school with minimal support) and this resonates very strongly with me. At times in his life when he's been suffering from a crisis, trains have always soothed him.
Two related observations.<p>One, that [obsessively] lining things up is supposed to be an early indicator for autism @ c.2yo.<p>Two, Thomas The Tank Engine (children's books, cartoon featuring living trains with their faces on their boilers) is supposedly beloved of those [boys] on the autistic spectrum.<p>The latter is weird to me as it's pretty orthogonal to anything to do with trains AFAICT. The trains might be coincidence and the structure of the stories with the strict roles and narrow characters might be the appealling part?
Isn't the same/similar phenomenon as coffee shop background noise, sometimes deliberately used for making focus?<p>In any case, surprised that those boys are not affected by crowds of people (a lot of random, unexpected touch). At least in my case, it is an easy way go get a sensory overloading.