Train company reminds passengers to eat breakfast after fainting commuters cause delays

We've all been told plenty of times that it’s the most important meal of the day, but one train company is taking the fight for breakfast a little more seriously than most.

When Portugese rail company Fertagus realised that fainting commuters were a serious cause of delays to its morning trains, they decided to start a breakfast eating campaign.

Posters at stations from Lisbon to Setubal are currently hosting posters warning passengers, “Travelling without eating breakfast can affect everyone’s trip!”

Well that’s not breakfast is it [Fertagus]

The decision was made after 46 passengers fainted on Fertagus trains in the first half of 2016.

The swooning passengers meant that 51 trains were delayed, causing a total of 209 minutes of hold-up.

“We realised that many of these cases are due to episodes of low blood sugar in people who have not eaten for several hours. Normally during the morning rush hour,” Fertagus marketing manager Raquel Santos told radio TSF.

“Many times it is not possible to immediately remove the passenger from the train and this causes delays,” she added.

“Often the alarm is pulled and this causes circulation on the whole network to be delayed.”

Like London’s TFL, it also advises carrying a bottle of water and getting off at the next stop if you feel unwell.

Image credit: Food and Drink/REX/Shutterstock