9:13 pm LSE CSA takes on six smoking, drunk teenagers

My BFF and I took the 9:13 pm LSE train from Union last night.
We sat in the second coach from the locomotive.

Just after Rouge Hill, someone on the train lit a cigarette.

I smelled it first and jumped up and bolted up the steps.

Oh hells no.

Six young men (late teens? maybe 18-20 years of age?) who had made their way to the bi-level part of the coach, who  were carrying on like they were still at the bar, were passing around a cigarette and one was just outright smoking. There were other passengers who were staring straight ahead, pretending not to notice.

What?! Since when do a couple of punks "own" a train?

I stared at them all for all of 30 seconds, realized this was more than I could handle, and headed back down the stairs.

"Wait here," I told my friend. "I'll be back."

I am still shocked that I am the only passenger who went to find enforcement or alert the CSA. And not one pushed the emergency strip.

I tell the CSA who pulls out a BlackBerry and calls dispatch(?) to find out if there are Transit Safety Officers in the area. There were not any on the train. I also didn't want the CSA to confront six, drunk teenagers on his own without backup.

Between Rouge Hill and Ajax, the CSA was unable to secure enforcement which meant he had to deal with these jerks on his own. Myself, my friend and another male passenger offered to provide backup. He said he'd be okay but I also told him that his personal physical safety was paramount over a pack of cigarettes. Rest assured, I wanted these assholes kicked off the train, but that's an officer's job, not a CSA.

He assures us he'll be fine but I follow after him to watch him to make sure no one throws a punch at him.

He confronts the men with one getting up and getting right into his face. I remained too far back to hear what was being said but was ready to signal the male volunteer to provide assistance if the confrontation got physical.

The punk talking to the CSA was actually holding a smoldering cigarette. Some people's children!!!

The CSA returns. He was smart. He backed away from the men as he went up the stairs so as to not turn his back to them.

He told those of us who were ready to tag in for WWE Smackdown (insert #) that he told them he had notified police, that the fine was $100,000 (he admitted he didn't really know what the fine was but I was okay with that number) and told them to get off the train at Whitby or they faced being arrested at Oshawa (he really was left holding the bag on his own which concerns me as a GO Transit customer).

When we pulled into Whitby, all of them bolted from the train.

Those of us left on our coach began to have a discussion about what kind of people, drunk or not, decide to smoke on a commuter train in full view of other paying passengers. Self-entitlement? Lack of respect? Then we began to lament about the state of today's youth.

Sitting kitty-corner to us, those of us having this discussion, was a young man engrossed in his e-reader with his feet on the seats.

He catches my eye and says, "I'm 20 and even I see the lack of respect."

Irony. (insert rag time piano) Play me out Johnny!