London Tube Gets a Floral Smell

April 20 -- The world's oldest underground rail system may no longer be accused of smelling like the armpit of the earth. As a matter of fact, it's coming up roses — French roses.

The latest British import from across the Channel is Eau de Madeleine, a French perfume that promises to squash the stench of sweat, food, mouse droppings and hot metal that has been the l'air du the London Underground for 148 years.

The London Underground — or the Tube as it is fondly and sometimes not so fondly called — serves millions of passengers a day serving 275 stations over 253 miles of railway. In summer, the Tube's resources get even more stretched as thousands of tourists visit the city on the Thames and with it, carry a bouquet of odors that can make even the stiffest of upper lips curl with distaste.

But from Monday, the Tube will sport a fresh French fragrance that The Times, a national daily, described as a "floral bouquet of rose and jasmine combined with citrus top notes, giving way to strong woody accents and a hint of sweetness in the base."

"With three million passengers a day, the atmosphere in our stations can be an interesting collection of odors reflecting all aspects of London life, some not so nice," said Mike Brown, the Underground's customer services director in The Times. "But if the system smells fresh, customers feel more positive about their overall travelling experience."

Eau de Madeleine will be sprayed at three Underground stations for a one-month trial period and if it catches the fancy of British noses, its odors will soon be wafting across stations throughout London, officials said.

Smell the Roses

The scent, from the fragrance company Quest International, is based on a perfume used in Paris Metro stations since 1998.

But the fragrance has been specially designed to mask odors particular to British consumers. Londoners now wonder if it's the fish 'n' chips or the chicken tikka masala, — recently christened the country's national food by the British Foreign Minister — that Eau de Madeleine will have to wage olfactory war on.