Come on guys. Let's be serious here for a minute. The world today? The world today where in dozens of countries around the world you simply buy a bunk in shared berth? Yes here in the land of red white and blue sharing a compartment would be a tough sell. But to act like boarding a sleeping car train and sharing the space with strangers is putting your life at risk. There are thousands of people at this very moment in shared sleeping compartments around the world how many will be killed by another passenger while they sleep? Let's put some perspective back into this conversation.
I don't think sharing a bunk on a train is necessarily dangerous in and of itself, but once you broadcast your dates and times and intentions on the internet there is really no telling who you might encounter as a result. The internet casts a very wide net that can reach all sorts of unsavory folks. People have been raped and murdered for the simple mistake of handling an otherwise innocuous Craigslist transaction in a poorly planned location or under poorly conceived circumstances.
Even here on AU some members have experienced random strangers suddenly showing up to meet them on their journeys without any notice or prior communication. I'm not aware of anything serious happening as a result but this knowledge should serve as a warning to others that whatever you put out on the internet can reach people and places you would have never expected or intended to inform of your personal plans.
The simple truth is that we live in a culture where some of the most physically aggressive and least mentally stable individuals continue to enjoy easy access to military grade weaponry. Unfortunately these same individuals tend to have very limited access to proper mental health screening and corrective services. That cultural disconnect seems to be unique to the US and can turn seemingly safe and uneventful plans into potentially volatile or even life threatening encounters.