Passengers With Good Manners

[duncanp]

Just as a counter to the Passengers With Bad Manners thread, I thought I would start one to show examples of good manners.

Mine was going to work on the Victoria Line this morning. A pregnant lady got on, but it was not obvious that she was pregnant, and she was standing with her back to me, so that I couldn't see her Baby On Board badge.

She said to me "Excuse me, can I sit there please?".

To which I replied yes and got up, and said sorry for not getting up earlier.

So you see good manners can work.

 

[Antman]

Just as a counter to the Passengers With Bad Manners thread, I thought I would start one to show examples of good manners.

Mine was going to work on the Victoria Line this morning. A pregnant lady got on, but it was not obvious that she was pregnant, and she was standing with her back to me, so that I couldn't see her Baby On Board badge.

She said to me "Excuse me, can I sit there please?".

To which I replied yes and got up, and said sorry for not getting up earlier.

So you see good manners can work.

And that's how it normally works in my experience, no need for the confronational attitude displayed by some people on here

 

[Philip Phlopp]

Any passenger who shuts an open slam-door as they walk down the platform, you get a brownie point.

And a pox on those who leave them open. Lazy gits.

 

[Ianno87]

Helping people with heavy luggage, score 1 point.

Pointing out to people with heavy luggage where the lift is when they're about to tackle the stairs, 1 point.

Helping people who are obviously unsure if they're on the right train (or part of train, if splitting*) but are afraid to ask anybody, 1 point

Helping lift buggies on/off the train, 1 point


*I lived in Northampton for 2 years and wouldv'e loved London Midland to have paid me 50p for every time I said "No, this part of the train does not go to Birmingham New Street"

 

[theblackwatch]

Any passenger who shuts an open slam-door as they walk down the platform, you get a brownie point.

Presumably not before other passengers have finished getting off? :P

 

[Flamingo]

Any passenger who shuts an open slam-door as they walk down the platform, you get a brownie point.

And a pox on those who leave them open. Lazy gits.

I LOVE those passengers!

 

[Bishopstone]

Any passenger who shuts an open slam-door as they walk down the platform, you get a brownie point.

May I have an extra point for shutting the droplight, also?

 

[Flamingo]

May I have an extra point for shutting the droplight, also?

Very much so!

 

[Segedunum]

I try to close any slam doors I pass especially if the service is keen to get away...making sure of course that nobody else is trying to leave

 

[cf111]

I do enjoy walking down the Highland Chieftain at Inverness after alighting and give the doors doors good slam!

 

[Flamingo]

I do enjoy walking down the Highland Chieftain at Inverness after alighting and give the doors doors good slam!

Nothing is worse than a half-hearted push. I then don't know if it's closed or on the catch. A resounding slam is much more reassuring (although I will always visually double-check!). They are called slam-door trains for a reason!

 

[Requeststop]

I'd give bonus points to passengers on the platform opening the train doors on FGW (ooops sorry) GWR's 125's to aid the passengers inside having to pull down the windows and reverse opening the doors. Extra points too if they help with luggage.

 

[deltic]

Many years ago I used to take my 2/3 year old son to Victoria to watch the trains and he used to enjoy going along slamming all the doors usually with a kind word from the rail staff except one day we were stopped by a staff member saying it was far to dangerous! I hasten to add he was always carefully supervised as he slammed them shut.

 

[IanXC]

My ponderance is always how early before booked departure is too early to start closing doors!

The one thing I absolutely cannot ignore is a door on the latch. If I've seen it I will always go and deal with it. An East Coast dispatcher once threw me a little bag of Harribo when I did this from some distance one evening, I'd have stopped and had a conversation but I had a very tight connection!

 

[sheff1]

I'd give bonus points to passengers on the platform opening the train doors on FGW (ooops sorry) GWR's 125's to aid the passengers inside having to pull down the windows and reverse opening the doors. Extra points too if they help with luggage.

If the person inside is looking baffled and obviously trying to work out what to do I will open the door and am invariably thanked.

If it is a gormless student staring at their mobile phone and making no attempt to do anything I will move to the adjacent door on the next carriage. Why - because when I did open the door for the first one of these I encountered they stepped off without any acknowledgement or word of thanks. I rather suspect they thought train doors open by magic - certainly if you are behind one of these cretins when trying to alight they look completely gob smacked if you ask whether they are getting off and, if they are, could they please open the door.

 

[Mugby]

Any passenger who shuts an open slam-door as they walk down the platform, you get a brownie point.

And a pox on those who leave them open. Lazy gits.

I wonder if they walk out of their own homes and leave the front door wide open?

 

[Segedunum]

I've had a few instances over the past couple of years when i'd like to have think i've gone beyond what one would expect of the average passenger, considering during these I was only 15-16.

About a year ago, I was on a rammed XC from Newcastle to Birmingham. The preceding service had been cancelled and we were grossly overcrowded by the time we left Darlington. A woman sat down next to me as she'd reserved, and we got talking about the usual stuff as you do when you're both on long journeys. She mentioned being on a teaching course in Grantham and I said 'oh you're in for a long journey then!' as on this particular day there was no service via Grantham, with all VTEC services going via Lincoln Central due to engineering. She did a double take and produced an itinerary which showed a train direct from Doncaster to Grantham, which gave me the unenviable task of explaining to a now teary eyed young lass that she was going to be very very late, having to catch a bus from Doncaster, but I brought up the next bus and told her the new arrival time. She was at least rather thankful i'd told her, god knows how the systems hadn't been updated in time for her.

There was also the student with very little English knowledge who'd missed his coach from Sunderland to Cambridge so he'd been put on a train and left to his own devices from Sunderland. I ended up explaining every stage of his journey and ensuring that he knew where to change, and made sure he was on the right platform for his Newcastle-Peterborough. Here's hoping he made it to Cambridge!

My favourite was the brother of the cyclist Mark Cavendish (a tall tale perhaps but the bloke was his spitting image) wandering aimlessly around Newcastle Central asking for the train to Seaburn. I laughed and said he was a few years late for a train to there, walking him to the Metro entrance instead. Nice guy.

 

[RichmondCommu]

I rather suspect they thought train doors open by magic - certainly if you are behind one of these cretins when trying to alight they look completely gob smacked if you ask whether they are getting off and, if they are, could they please open the door.

Has it not occurred to you that those "cretins" might not know how to open the door? I get the impression that you too are a bit of a "cretin" with your apparent attitude towards those that may never have encountered a 'slam door' train before.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I wonder if they walk out of their own homes and leave the front door wide open?

Well no because it's their property and so they want to make sure that it's secure!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Any passenger who shuts an open slam-door as they walk down the platform, you get a brownie point.

And a pox on those who leave them open. Lazy gits.

In all honesty it is conceivable that travelers (especially those who are not used to slam door trains) might well think that the door does indeed close itself. In the 21st century why shouldn't it close itself?

Happily the end is nigh for slam door trains
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

A woman sat down next to me as she'd reserved, and we got talking about the usual stuff as you do when you're both on long journeys. She mentioned being on a teaching course in Grantham and I said 'oh you're in for a long journey then!' as on this particular day there was no service via Grantham, with all VTEC services going via Lincoln Central due to engineering. She did a double take and produced an itinerary which showed a train direct from Doncaster to Grantham, which gave me the unenviable task of explaining to a now teary eyed young lass that she was going to be very very late, having to catch a bus from Doncaster, but I brought up the next bus and told her the new arrival time. She was at least rather thankful i'd told her, god knows how the systems hadn't been updated in time for her.

Whilst it was nice that you were able to help out your fellow traveler, I have to say that random strangers trying to make conversation with me on train journeys gets on my nerves. If I'm on a longish train journey eg London to Manchester I'll be wanting to do one of two things; either reading or sleeping and neither are helped by strangers wanting to make conversation! And randoms trying to talk to me on my commute is even worse. OK, rant over

 

[Segedunum]

Has it not occurred to you that those "cretins" might not know how to open the door? I get the impression that you too are a bit of a "cretin" with your apparent attitude towards those that may never have encountered a 'slam door' train before.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


Well no because it's their property and so they want to make sure that it's secure!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


In all honesty it is conceivable that travelers (especially those who are not used to slam door trains) might well think that the door does indeed close itself. In the 21st century why shouldn't it close itself?

Happily the end is nigh for slam door trains
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


Whilst it was good that you were able to help out your fellow traveler, I have to say that random strangers trying to make conversation with me on train journeys gets on my nerves. If I'm on a longish train journey eg London to Manchester I'll be wanting to do one of two things; either reading or sleeping and neither are helped by strangers wanting to make conversation!

I never really initiate conversation, I'm friendly but not so friendly that I'll start a conversation without prompt. If someone seems genuinely quite nice and willing to talk about something constructive I'll continue as all I'm normally doing is looking at my phone. However if it's someone gassing about themselves it gets incredibly irritating. In all these instances it was actually the other person that asked for help/randomly started talking.

 

[sheff1]

I get the impression that you too are a bit of a "cretin" with your apparent attitude towards those that may never have encountered a 'slam door' train before.

If you think it is stupid to expect that someone who encounters an obstacle they have never seen before makes some effort to deal with the situation then that is up to you.

My view is that the person who makes no effort at all, preferring to stare steadfastly at their mobile phone, is the stupid one ... but there you go.

 

[RichmondCommu]

If you think it is stupid to expect that someone who encounters an obstacle they have never seen before makes some effort to deal with the situation then that is up to you.

My view is that the person who makes no effort at all, preferring to stare steadfastly at their mobile phone, is the stupid one ... but there you go.

Perhaps they are trying to work out how to open the door? Or perhaps they are assuming that the door will open for them, which in the 21st century is not an unreasonable assumption. And course all of this is happening whilst Mr Impatient is snapping away at them.

 

[sheff1]

Or perhaps they are assuming that the door will open for them, which in the 21st century is not an unreasonable assumption.

How many trains doors open automatically in the UK ? I can think of TfL and Merseyrail.

Fortunately, outside of those areas 99.9% of people assume they need to take action to open a train door. If they didn't, there would be hell of a lot of overcarries.

 

[RichmondCommu]

How many trains doors open automatically in the UK ? I can think of TfL and Merseyrail.

Fortunately, outside of those areas 99.9% of people assume they need to take action to open a train door. If they didn't, there would be hell of a lot of overcarries.

In that case you're assuming that people have traveled by train before and knew what to do? Perhaps the person in front of you was looking for a button to press?

 

[Clansman]

On the Highland Chieftain the other day there was a young lad of around 13/14 travelling solo and the train was quite busy by Haymarket, where an elderly woman was ready to alight. There was a problem, her suitcase was too heavy and she couldn't bend down to reach it off the floor. As the train halted at Haymarket she began to panic, and I couldn't reach her as there was a queue of people up the aisle. Out of a seat at the very end of the carriage, this boy came to the woman's rescue, managed to lift the case and help her off, to the applause from some passengers - fair play. If only more folk were less judgemental, more caring and laid back then the railways would be a far better climate.

 

[James_D]

Yesterday as i alighted the XC from Durham to Newcastle, I gave a rather charming young lady a hand with her heavy bag down to the platform, of which she was very grateful. Had a lovely walk back to work at the university in the sunshine and guess who I see getting dropped off by her friend at the halls of residence as i was walking by! And we both had a good chuckle at the situation as i jokingly enquired as to why she didnt give me a lift

 

[Deepgreen]

I wonder if they walk out of their own homes and leave the front door wide open?

Not a valid comparison at all - their house is their property and will presumably have no-one else to monitor its security, whereas a train is public and staff will be around. It's a selfish act if there is no-one else trying to alight or board, but not an insecure one.

The converse is those (relatively few, thank goodness) who board a sliding door train and feel it necessary to press the close button behind them, with no thought to check if anyone else is behind them trying to board, in weather that is not even remotely cold.

 

[Segedunum]

The converse is those (relatively few, thank goodness) who board a sliding door train and feel it necessary to press the close button behind them, with no thought to check if anyone else is behind them trying to board, in weather that is not even remotely cold.

I once closed a 319 door on myself. Twas a windy day at Hendon so I thought I'd be considerate and shut it behind me. Sadly it opened a little slow and closed a little fast. Someone did thankfully open it again before I found myself stuck [emoji14]

 

[IanXC]

How many trains doors open automatically in the UK ? I can think of TfL and Merseyrail.

Fortunately, outside of those areas 99.9% of people assume they need to take action to open a train door. If they didn't, there would be hell of a lot of overcarries.

ScotRail 314s are the only other example I can think of.

 

[wimbledonpete]

I'll generally tell a couple of people standing at the wrong end of St Pancras high speed platforms that the train they want is up the other end - but would feel a bit too self conscious walking along and telling everyone! There are always tons of people who don't see the "Front Train" notification - maybe because it scrolls along the bottom of the screen or maybe just because they're not expecting it so just check destination and platform.

 

[Deepgreen]

I once closed a 319 door on myself. Twas a windy day at Hendon so I thought I'd be considerate and shut it behind me. Sadly it opened a little slow and closed a little fast. Someone did thankfully open it again before I found myself stuck [emoji14]

I don't understand this. 319 doors are sliding, not slam-type so how did the wind affect them? Were you on or off the train?