Please don't. Most people riding commuter trains just want to be left in peace.

Developing social skills is absolutely a valuable thing, but it's not fair to make innocents on the train be your tutors.

Practice social skills with co-workers, at networking events, or in shared-interest groups (join a book club, an outdoors society, etc.)

Totally agree with this. 99% of people want to have their coffee and contemplate not being on the train.

I'm sorry to disagree, but I promise you that at least the strong extroverts would be happy to talk to somebody at least. Just by the numbers that should make up and not too small part of a train passengers. Plus it is easy to wander around or pretend to exit on the next stop in case the situation gets too awkward.

In fact I would argue that this is exactly the right social environment for practicing social skills as it takes place outside the typical peer groups and "save" settings. In a setting where people know somebody already a sudden change in social interactions might come across as weird and odd. The same thin a train is totally random and chances are super small to meet these people again.

> Plus it is easy to wander around or pretend to exit on the next stop in case the situation gets too awkward.

Again, I'm sorry, but I really think this is a bad idea. You're talking about making somebody to get up and move seats or cars to avoid you?

> chances are super small to meet these people again.

Except not if it's a commuter train. If you ride the same train at the same time, you're likely to see mostly the same people going to and from work.

Totally agree with this. Try to make small talk with someone every day. If they engage in conversation, continue talking until one person reaches the destination. You will be surprised by 1) how much you have in common and 2) what you can learn from them.