The jolt to the streetcar knocked the old man's head against a seat rail and drove Enzo to his knees.

"They have realised that public transport is not just for poor people," says Chris Antonopoulos, head of sales at Bombardier's rail division.

Among the most militant are Mark Serwotka—head of the Public and Commercial Services union, which looks after civil servants—and Bob Crow, who runs the Rail, Maritime and Transport union.