Grime, litter, smells, suspicious spills and stains, rodents and cockroaches account for a large part of our train journeys.

So when HolidayIQ asked travellers what they wanted most, for a survey on the occasion of World Tourism Day on September 27, it’s no wonder that cleaner trains topped the wish list with 83 per cent of over 20,000 respondents voting in favour of them.

Travellers are increasingly turning away from train journeys as compared to last year due to the poor hygiene, says the travel portal. (See Musing on Muck : Page 4)

Wi-fi hubs (74 per cent), garbage-free cities (71 per cent) and standardised cab fares (62 per cent) were other top desires.