A COMMUTER has asked the Oxford Mail's help to track down a woman he met on the train after he missed his chance to get her number.

Robert Coles met his fellow commuter on a lunchtime Chiltern train to Marylebone about two or three years ago, having boarded from Leamington Spa.

He set about sorting his monthly expenses and had finished them by the time the train pulled in to Bicester North Station.

The woman boarded the train and sat across the table from Mr Coles, then opened her bag to reveal a small pile of receipts to proceeded to sort her expenses.

Mr Coles described it as an ‘incredible icebreaker’ and said: “Two strangers bonded immediately. What happened first [sorting the expenses] was almost unimaginable.”

He added: “From that moment, it was so easy to talk. So much that she never drank her cup of coffee from the station’s Little Italy coffee bar. I owe her a new cup.

“I have worked, and still do, for Japanese companies for almost 30 years and I told her that I know more about rural Japan than many Tokyoites.

"Twice she said she yearned to visit Japan.

“We bonded again. She had moved to Caversfield from London’s Kings Road. I’d lived there too.”

The pair parted ways as the train reached London but Mr Coles said he has never forgotten the intriguing travel companion.

He said he had to rush to a business appointment and after getting through the ticket barrier turned to wave to the woman.

He added: “She was still by the platform, searching for her ticket. As I watched she found it.

“More empathy. I’m often searching for mine.

“I did wave but by then she was surrounded by passengers arriving from another train.”

Mr Coles is hoping to track down the fellow commuter. If you can help email colespcjpuk@btinternet.com