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In The Commuter (2018), the train driver just died. Michael wants to detach the last rail car from a moving train. Sam, the conductor, is already on the last rail car where all the passengers have boarded. He says:

"Between the train and the people, I always knew it would be the train"

and then jumps onto a moving train to get rid of a chain, which happens to be stuck between two carts, aiding Michael, who had already been trying.

What is the meaning of Sam's words?

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    I assumed that he thought the train would kill him, rather than the people.
    – Raj
    Apr 1, 2019 at 18:25

1 Answer 1

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He's talking about the stress of the job. It's a common "joke" (though not really funny when you consider recent suicide rates) that is based on either suicide or stress.

"I'm not sure what's going to kill me first, the stress from these people or the stress from this job"

"I'm not sure what's going to make me kill myself first, dealing with these people or dealing with this job"

Sam is essentially saying, "I always knew somehow this train would be the death of me." It's not really clear whether he was saying it in jest or if he truly believed it, but that's essentially what that quote means.

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