Here's a shot right down the middle of the aisle. The M1's come in two seating configurations that I know of, one without any seats facing inward, and one with them, like this one. To the best of my knowledge, nearly everyone prefers this configuration, as the former obstructs seating, standing, and movement through the coach. Generally speaking, I can't think of what moron would think that using seats not facing inward on a Metro train would be a good idea, as I've nearly had my knees taken out, or been shoved into the seats by rude people, on multiple occassions. For that matter, I think that ALL of the seats should face in, as on the old Russian Metro trains that were still in use when I moved to Prague. This is the system used on the New York City subway, the Tokyo subway, the Budapest Metro, and most of the London Underground (with the exception of the Metropolitan and East London Lines), so it's a no-brainer that it's quite standard throughout the world for a reason.