"Not like the old days"

The Complete and Total Loser ate dinner with friends in the city last night, a Saturday. They drove him to the train station afterward for the 10:40 home. 
Dorm-bound college students filled the car.
(The Loser's weekends in college, late 70s ... nearly friendless as always ... Sunday mornings ... up early ... one of the first in the dinning hall ... breakfast, coffee, cigarettes ... Sue L., who woke early to run ... they'd talk, laugh ... pretty girl, Sue: deep brown eyes, thick, defined lips, great smile ... just friends, though. A digression.)
The women in this picture were at the seat next to the exit. As the Loser stepped off, he said to the conductor, who stood on the platform, "Not like the old days."
"Yeah," the conductor said.

Two college students spend an intimate time on a commuter train.