This is the sight that greeted visitors to Brisbane who caught the train from the airport on Saturday evening.
Commuters on the train - of which this reporter was one - said while messy, filthy conditions were reported as front page news from Delhi, in Brisbane it barely attracted shrugs from staff.
Fruit scraps, abandoned newspapers, tampons, junk food containers jammed into seats, beside seats, under seats, on seats and then strewn across the floor of the first five carriages.
Commuters were horrified at the extent of the grotty conditions and had to walk around the garbage to find somewhere to sit.
When Airtrain staff were alerted to the mess with the train still at Brisbane Airport, they neglected to do anything about it, saying the trains got cleaned in the city.
Zainaba Ali, a psychology lecturer from Toowong returning home from Sydney, slipped on banana skins over the entry way of the train.
"I am embarrassed because it is the first thing that people see when they come back from interstate or from overseas," she said.
After recovering from her fall, Ms Ali said the mess gave people a bad first impression of Brisbane.
"This is the first perception that people have and it is just not a good introduction to our city," she said.
"If you were in Delhi and this is what you see then there is a big hoo-ha. But here, it is always 'it's all-good'."
Businessman Steve Groves, returning to Brisbane from Yeppoon, was also embarrassed at the mess and had to choose carefully where he could sit.
"It is awful for people who are visiting our city and coming here for the very first time," he said.
"I think it gives a very poor image of the passengers who are doing it. It is just poor manners."
Airtrain is a privately-run company which uses Queensland Rail trains to run passenger services to Brisbane Airport.
Airtrain CEO Chris Brasche refused to be interviewed about the mess and would not answer how many people used the Airtrain on Saturday, or why the train was so untidy.
He thanked brisbanetimes.com.au for bringing the mess to his attention in a brief email.
"I will have the specific details of the train cleanliness on Saturday investigated," he wrote.
"Airtrain contract the train services to Queensland Rail and I have asked them to review this specific issue."
............................................................................................................................................................
COMMENT: Although not personally or directly responsible for this mess, the Brisbane Airport Corporation under the control of Jim Carden cannot stand idly by and allow this filth to greet our interstate and international visitors. Jim Carden should immediately take all possible action to have this problem rectified and publicly announce what steps he has taken to improve the appearance of Brisbane Airport's commuter facilities. After all, the Airport is Jim's "baby" and as the "Mayor" of Brisbane Airport he has a moral, if not legal, responsibility to ensure that all aspects of the Airport and its facilities are always up to scratch.
