Quiet Coaches

[shredder1]

How quiet are you supposed to be in those coaches, talking quietly, heavy breathing, breaking wind?

The other day I noticed a guy take a 1 minute phone call while seated in one, it sounded like an emergency, when another passenger stood up and shouted the coach for him to be quiet, to which he responded with shut up and sit down unless you want to discuss it at the next stop! Everyone smiled. The guy sat down immediately and shut up

 

[Bletchleyite]

Phone calls are definitely not allowed. Emergency or no, it should have been taken in the vestibule.

 

[CardiffKid]

another passenger stood up and shouted the coach for him to be quiet,

Taking a phone call blatantly shouldn't be done, but then again neither should someone be shouting in any part of a train, let alone the quite carriage.

There's no firm set of rules and some TOC have some bizarre insistence's, all be it some which are never enforced.

I will continue to listen to music through headphones in the quite carriage as I'm more than capable of ensuring that no one else can hear my music.

Personally, and I stress personally, I would only use the quiet carriage while travelling alone - and I wouldn't make any kind of personal phone call, emergency or not, within ear shot of another passenger unless I really had too - but maybe that's just me.

 

[Tim R-T-C]

It is all pretty pointless. Some people can have perfectly quiet reasonable conversations on telephones, while others manage to make their face to face conversation audible throughout the coach.

 

[ejstubbs]

Phone calls are definitely not allowed. Emergency or no, it should have been taken in the vestibule.

I was in a quiet coach recently when a lady across the aisle from me took a Facetime call on her iPhone. She did use headphones, and she spoke quite quietly (probably helped by the microphone built in to the headphone lead) and the call didn't last all that long. So I waited politely until she'd finished the call before pointing out to her the fairly prominent notice on the window over the table at which she was sat, which explained how passengers in the quiet coach are supposed to behave. To be fair, she was quite apologetic about it, and did go into the vestibule to make another call later in the journey. But to counter that relatively benign incident, I have experienced far more egregious abuse of the quiet coach by mobile users.

I sometimes think that some folks simply don't realise that they are in the quiet coach. I'm not sure what the answer is, without making the signage uncomfortably obtrusive. "QUIET" woven into the upholstery, perhaps? Invisible when the seat is occupied. Large signs on the coach and vestibule doors? Wouldn't be seen when a lot of people are getting on at once. Most quiet coach users do seem to have seat reservations, and the quiet coach does usually seem to get booked up more quickly than the rest of train, so one would assume that it's a conscious choice to sit there. So why choose the quiet coach, and then fail to keep your noise down? Or do they expect it just to be everyone else who has to be quiet? It baffles me.

I actually find the worst people to share a quiet coach with are groups who engage in animated conversation around a table. Far too many people seem to be unable to have a conversation at a civilised volume when seated across a table from each other - and when four people are involved there's always a tendency for the volume to ramp up. When the other 80% of the people in the coach are being quiet, it makes involuntary eavesdropping almost unavoidable. Noise-cancelling headphones can help a bit - but why should one have to use them to get a bit of peace and quiet in the quiet coach? I think there is actually a case for making quiet coaches all airline seating, to reduce the tendency for this kind of behaviour.

 

[shredder1]

Phone calls are definitely not allowed. Emergency or no, it should have been taken in the vestibule.

In an emergency??, he wouldnt have had time to get to the vestibule it was a 1 minute call, he sounded distraught too and said something like Oh no I`m so sorry, Ill phone you back! could have been a death or something?

 

[Bletchleyite]

In an emergency??, he wouldnt have had time to get to the vestibule it was a 1 minute call, he sounded distraught too and said something like Oh no I'm so sorry, Ill phone you back! could have been a death or something?

Particularly in the aisle seat, you get up, walk to the vestibule then answer (phoning back if needs be). Prior to doing so you don't know what it's about anyway! Or you decline the call and send a text to find out how urgent it is.

If you expect a call you feel you will not be willing to decline, you don't sit in there.

It's just common courtesy. Most of the train is not the quiet coach.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I actually find the worst people to share a quiet coach with are groups who engage in animated conversation around a table.

That is actually a very strong case for all airline seating in the quiet coach, to compensate for the lack of tables it could be at a more generous pitch than elsewhere. It'd also discourage families with young children (who are rarely actually quiet) from selecting it, perhaps it could be countered with an all-tables "family coach" as many European railways provide.

 

[shredder1]

Particularly in the aisle seat, you get up, walk to the vestibule then answer (phoning back if needs be).

If you expect a call, you don't sit in there.

It's just common courtesy. Most of the train is not the quiet coach.

Haha yeah right!, so emergency calls are expected? I hope anyone having an epileptic fit or heart attack in a quiet coach has the civil decency to plan it properly and sit in an aisle seat, its common courtesy after all, no seriously an emergency is an emergency, we had one on a Pendolino a few weeks ago and the medics had to be called and the train held up, these things happen of course, but you should be able to expect a resonably quiet environment in a quiet coach under normal circumstances, to me a short quiet or low tone incoming phone call wouldnt bother me, I certainly wouldnt embarrass myself by bringing it to the attention of the passenger, I feel that would be a bit OTT, but each to their own I suppose.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Haha yeah right!, so emergency calls are expected?

You do not know it is an emergency call until you have answered it, unless you were expecting it.

You do not sit in the quiet coach if you are expecting to receive a telephone call you feel you will wish to answer (or at least you sit in an aisle seat with the expectation of moving to the vestibule before you press the green button, calling back if necessary).

You do not answer your mobile phone in the quiet coach. You move to the vestibule before doing so, or you decline the call.

Simple as that. The situation cannot arise if people are behaving with consideration.

Someone *on the train* suffering a medical emergency is hardly comparable with the inconsiderate decision to answer a telephone call while sitting in the quiet coach.

 

[shredder1]

You do not know it is an emergency call until you have answered it, unless you were expecting it.

You do not sit in the quiet coach if you are expecting to receive a telephone call you feel you will wish to answer (or at least you sit in an aisle seat with the expectation of moving to the vestibule before you press the green button, calling back if necessary).

You do not answer your mobile phone in the quiet coach. You move to the vestibule before doing so, or you decline the call.

Simple as that. The situation cannot arise if people are behaving with consideration.

Sorry you don't appear to have grasped what I posted, never mind, I may not have explained it properly, thanks for the opinion anyway.

I think going off topic a little and answering what another poster mentioned about airlines, yes totally agree a quite area would go a miss there, I`ve been on some very rowdy flights.

 

[gallafent]

Most quiet coach users do seem to have seat reservations, and the quiet coach does usually seem to get booked up more quickly than the rest of train, so one would assume that it's a conscious choice to sit there.

As an aside, when booking on GWR HSTs while travelling with my bike I book quiet coach since that happens to be coach A, which is also where bikes are stowed. If I could pick “same coach as my bike will be stored” then I would, but for some reason that's not an option in the seat reservation preferences. Hey ho.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Sorry you don't appear to have grasped what I posted

You posted that he received an emergency call.

There is no way he could have known it was an emergency call until he answered it unless he was expecting it. So he should not have answered it. If he was expecting an emergency call, he should not have been in that coach in the first place.

I certainly did grasp that! Or perhaps you would like to explain how it is hard that you simply do not, under any circumstances, make or receive[1] telephone calls in the quiet coach with the one exception of it being a 999 call, and that if you expect to need to do so you do not sit in there.

[1] If you unexpectedly receive one, you decline it and use text messaging to find out the subject, or move to the vestibule and then answer or return it.

 

[GatwickDepress]

I don't mind if someone answers the phone in the quiet coach if they're considerate enough to talk quietly, as the female passenger did in ejstubbs's story.

The self-appointed Quiet Coach Gestapo cause more noise and distress than most passengers making noise.

 

[Iskra]

I don't mind if someone answers the phone in the quiet coach if they're considerate enough to talk quietly, as the female passenger did in ejstubbs's story.

The self-appointed Quiet Coach Gestapo cause more noise and distress than most passengers making noise.

Agreed, but there are passengers who take the mick.

I think it is perfectly fine to answer an incoming call in the quiet coach, providing you move to the vestibule to continue it.

It is the quiet coach, not the silent coach.

 

[stut]

Define "emergency".

An "I'm in mortal danger" emergency?

An "I'm very important and work and I need to make sure I phone someone and say things loudly to them on a regular basis to remind them of this fact" emergency?

An "oh my God I put that picture on the Gram half an hour ago and only haven't even got 10 likes for it yet" emergency?

These things need to be clear...

 

[cuccir]

Agree with Iskra. There's a big difference between answering a call for 30 seconds before ending it or moving to a vestibule, and holding a conversation.

If it were me, I'd have clearer signs asking people to limit talking rather than just prohibit phone calls/devices. Some people's voices are just LOUD and they may not know it. I know if I have been lecturing at work and come home , my wife tells me to lower my voice: it is easy to be noisy sometimes and not notice. A 'library rules' cartridge is clearer!

 

[NSE]

Hah. Quiet Coach Gestapo. Love it. I also have no issue with short, quiet phone calls. If a family member is ill, as soon as the caller ID crops up you might know it's an emergency. What if you're on a four/five hour train to Scotland from London and the only seat is the quiet coach? You have to stand just in case? No. Take the seat in the quiet coach. Of course, it is the quiet coach so take the phone to the vestibule but I see no issue with answering it before you've left the carriage providing you do it quietly.

This won't be popular, but I have no issue with crying babies and if no other seats were available, I'd have no problem with a baby in the quiet coach.

 

[Taunton]

I'm surprised anyone in the quiet coach can hear any phone call over the incessant booming of the PA, listing the whole lot of stops, going on about the safety instructions as if they were an airline, then the buffet attendant comes on and regales us with a lengthy list of what they have 6 carriages away, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Why is all that not suppressed as well.

 

[MCSHF007]

No calls should mean no calls. Phones in silent mode.

Although some people (as mentioned above) are capable of talking quietly on their phones it's sadly the case that those with louder voices (and less consideration) will notice this go unchallenged and hold their own phone conversations in a far less considerate manner.

 

[CentralTrainer]

You posted that he received an emergency call.

There is no way he could have known it was an emergency call until he answered it unless he was expecting it. So he should not have answered it. If he was expecting an emergency call, he should not have been in that coach in the first place.

I certainly did grasp that! Or perhaps you would like to explain how it is hard that you simply do not, under any circumstances, make or receive[1] telephone calls in the quiet coach with the one exception of it being a 999 call, and that if you expect to need to do so you do not sit in there.

[1] If you unexpectedly receive one, you decline it and use text messaging to find out the subject, or move to the vestibule and then answer or return it.

Can envisage such a text conversation:

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing - been shot through the chin with a crossbow"

"I'll have to call you back in 5"

"Why"

"I need to make my way to the vicinity of a vestibule"

"A vestibule? What is it?"

"An enclosed area between two train carriages - but that's not important right now"

 

[MCSHF007]

I'm surprised anyone in the quiet coach can hear any phone call over the incessant booming of the PA, listing the whole lot of stops, going on about the safety instructions as if they were an airline, then the buffet attendant comes on and regales us with a lengthy list of what they have 6 carriages away, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Why is all that not suppressed as well.

Quite so!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Can envisage such a text conversation:

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing - been shot through the chin with a crossbow"

"Call 999 now and get yourself an ambulance, then once they say they are on their way call me back. I'll be there as soon as I can".

[moves to vestibule]

In that scenario any further blabbing with the injured party is putting them at risk. A 999 call is a priority immediately, not a conversation with the person on the train who is in no position to help.

 

[321446]

I honestly think that they have their place. Long distance services, definitely. Metro or frequent stopping services, it is a complete waste of time and purely down to a misguided marketing exercise. Every single quiet carriage I have been in has, through no fault of mine, been just as noisy as any other coach anyway. And as the previous two pages have shown, all it does is upset those who want complete silence and those who make the noise are generally of The Type to whom such rules do not apply as they are Special.

 

[sheff1]

Most quiet coach users do seem to have seat reservations, and the quiet coach does usually seem to get booked up more quickly than the rest of train, so one would assume that it's a conscious choice to sit there. So why choose the quiet coach, and then fail to keep your noise down?

In one of my jobs travel tickets were booked via a provider. 9 times out of 10 they seemed to book seats in the quiet coach even though people were not requesting such a seat (most probably didn't even know there was a quiet coach). I assume the quiet coach was the first one which came up on their system as I tried specifically requesting "not a quiet coach" but it had no effect - I suspect the provider's staff were not actually aware of the concept.

 

[sheff1]

You do not answer your mobile phone in the quiet coach. You move to the vestibule before doing so, or you decline the call.

Simple as that. The situation cannot arise if people are behaving with consideration.

The situation can arise when people are booked into the quiet coach unknowingly (see my previous post).

Employees who are not regular train travellers will be more preoccupied with finding their reserved seat than scouring for notices about something they do not even know exists. On some TOCs the 'quiet coach' notices are not particularly prominent either.

 

[shredder1]

You posted that he received an emergency call.

There is no way he could have known it was an emergency call until he answered it unless he was expecting it. So he should not have answered it. If he was expecting an emergency call, he should not have been in that coach in the first place.

I certainly did grasp that! Or perhaps you would like to explain how it is hard that you simply do not, under any circumstances, make or receive[1] telephone calls in the quiet coach with the one exception of it being a 999 call, and that if you expect to need to do so you do not sit in there.

[1] If you unexpectedly receive one, you decline it and use text messaging to find out the subject, or move to the vestibule and then answer or return it.

This is becoming hard work OK lets just agree on the emergency bit and this will be different for everyone of course.

 

[shredder1]

The situation can arise when people are booked into the quiet coach unknowingly (see my previous post).

Employees who are not regular train travellers will be more preoccupied with finding their reserved seat than scouring for notices about something they do not even know exists. On some TOCs the 'quiet coach' notices are not particularly prominent either.

Thats a good answer, they actually have them on some European railways, but unless you understand the language you wouldnt know, now I never purposely sit in quiet coaches, but I just sit down and read anyway, so I guess I am pretty quiet when travelling alone anyway. I don`t think any reasonable person goes out of their way to annoy a fellow passenger and as you say some are not clearly marks and non regular travellers may not know of their existence.

 

[shredder1]

Can envisage such a text conversation:

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing - been shot through the chin with a crossbow"

"I'll have to call you back in 5"

"Why"

"I need to make my way to the vicinity of a vestibule"

"A vestibule? What is it?"

"An enclosed area between two train carriages - but that's not important right now"

Hahaha, nothing worst than being shot with a cross bow in a quiet coach, nightmare :P

 

[Howardh]

Bit pointless having a quiet coach on a Virgin Pendo when the aircon's on full blast.