Calling a room “like a station” might suggest noise, waiting, movement or loneliness. The comparison becomes sharper when the sentence reveals which connection matters.
Name the shared feature
Try an invented example: “People waited with their coats on, as if the room were a platform.” The coats and waiting give the reader a route into the comparison. You have not asked them to import every feature of an actual station.
Test the unwanted associations
Read the surrounding paragraph and ask whether the comparison introduces a detail that conflicts with the scene. If the room is quiet, a later phrase about announcements may pull it toward a different image. You can refine the comparison or choose another one.
Write two alternatives that emphasise different features, then select the one serving the passage’s immediate purpose. Originality is useful when it helps a reader see, not merely when it sounds unusual. A modest comparison with a clear connection often works better than an elaborate image whose parts compete for attention.